What's coming in the United States: six keys to Joe Biden's speech before Congress

The president of the United States, Joe Biden, delivered the traditional State of the Union address on Tuesday night, a message before both houses of Congress, ministers, Supreme Court justices and senior military commanders.

Biden highlighted the main achievements of his administration, but also outlined

.

Some keys to his message.

1- A clear campaign speech

The president has not yet formalized his candidacy for the 2024 presidential elections. He has said that he would define it at the beginning of this year and has left the door open to finally give up on re-election.

But the general tone of his speech was campaign.

In fact, he said several times: "There is a lot of work to finish", a veiled way of

The polls look complicated.

According to a

and

poll , 62% of Americans believe that Biden has done "not much" or "almost nothing" since he took office two years ago.

In addition, the poll revealed that while 78% of Democrats and independents approve of the president's performance,

year.

Despite the fact that the polls are not favorable to him,

.

Vice President Kamala Harris has failed to gain a foothold in the White House and she is not seen as a natural successor to her, even by Democrats.

During his speech, Biden sought to reinvigorate his image.

He defended various policies from his first years in government and reviewed the main achievements of his administration.

Despite the fact that from the ultra-conservative chain FOX they said that Biden's was a speech "full of lies" and "divisive", 71% of those consulted in a quick survey by the progressive chain CNN said that the country was going in the right direction. correct.

Before the message, only 52% had expressed their endorsement.

It's not little.

Joe Biden, this Tuesday in front of legislators from both houses of Congress, in Washington.

Photo: AFP

2- The focus on the middle class

In another sign that he is in the campaign, Biden focused most of his speech on signals for the middle class, a fundamental sector when it comes to winning the elections.

And

He highlighted the progress of the economy in recent years, with predictable self-praise.

He highlighted the record 12 million jobs created and reviewed the bills he signed to invest in infrastructure, low-emission energy sources, along with lowering the cost of prescription drugs and insulin.

The president also dwelled in particular on the parts of his agenda that he said would help blue-collar workers, many of them in parts of the country that have been left behind in the changing global economy.

He stressed spending that will create high-paying jobs that don't require a college degree, a clear message to the broad swath of undecided voters in states like Pennsylvania and Michigan who didn't graduate from college.

Biden also devoted another good part of his speech to another issue that interests the middle class.

She called for passing the so-called "Junk Fare Prevention Act," which would eliminate some irritating situations like airlines charging extra for families to sit together;

the high commissions charged by the company that sells concert tickets, and the transfer commissions of media companies, among others.

“Americans are tired of being taken for fools,” she said.

"My economic plan is to invest in places and people that have been forgotten," who "have been left behind or treated as if they were invisible" for the past four decades, he said, in a message that echoed Donald's for a moment. Trump.

"No billionaire should pay a lower tax rate than a school teacher or a firefighter," said the president, who also emphasized promoting "Made in America," another of Trump's emblems.

The car carrying Biden, and those in custody, return to the White House after the speech at the Capitol on Tuesday night.

Photo: EFE

3- Message for the Democratic base

Biden touched on several issues that interest his Democratic supporters.

He was emphatic in saying that he will not allow the Republicans to modify social or health benefits.

He also spoke about the rights of the LGTBQ community.

And he devoted several minutes to police brutality, one of the most moving moments of his speech.

“Imagine if you lost a child to the hands of the law,” Biden said after pointing out the parents of the young black man who was killed weeks ago by the police in the compound.

However, the president was careful not to go further and ask for the defunding of the police, as the most radical left of his party claims.

He even asked for additional resources to train the forces.

4- Unity?

Difficult

Biden will govern for the first time with the opposition-dominated House of Representatives.

In his speech, he asked his "Republican friends" for a unity agenda, on issues of combating opioids, helping veterans and the low cost of some medications.

But, beyond his words, Biden showed with his attitude that he is willing to take on the Republicans if necessary.

When the president began to reproach the conservatives for their proposals to end some social programs, the

rose and some began to shout: "Liar!"

The president got out of his prepared message and fired: "I'm having a good time with this conversation."

“Come by my office,” he continued.

Despite these bitter exchanges, which showed the

, Biden wanted to portray himself as a leader capable of reaching agreements with the Republicans.

"I've never been more optimistic about the future of America. We just have to remember who we are," he proclaimed.

The head of the White House wanted to be energetic before Congress.

Photo: AFP

5- Passed the image test

At 80 years old, Biden is the oldest president in US history.

If he were to win a second term he would end up at 86 and there are many doubts about his ability and energy to govern.

Social networks are full of memes with the president fighting with words or getting lost in speeches.

With Tuesday's message, Biden

which even many of his Democratic supporters have.

He was working for several weeks on writing the speech.

She read it aloud several times and took strategic pauses to avoid the stutter that he has had since he was a child and that often appears.

He is not a great speaker, nor does he have enormous charisma.

No one expected too much and just had to avoid mistakes.

He accomplished that task.

Although he started off with some setbacks, over the course of the message he became established and was seen as

and even had some improvised reflections of humor when they yelled at him “liar” from the Republican benches and he responded sharply.

His advisors will breathe a sigh of relief.

6- The Republican reaction

When he finished his speech, the one in charge of the Republican reply was the governor of Arkansas Sandra Huckabee Sanders, 40 years old and a former spokesperson for Trump, who lashed out at Biden's "radical left" and what he considers an attack on "freedom and peace".

"The Biden Administration seems more interested in 'woke' (politically correct) fantasies than in the harsh reality that Americans face every day," he said. Under the rule of the radical left, he added, the population is "crushed" by high fuel prices and empty supermarket shelves, and children are taught “to hate each other because of their race, instead of loving each other” or their “great country”.

Ultra-conservative Ted Cruz called the president's speech "divisive, angry, unrealistic and dishonest."

Donald Trump himself who appeared with a message on his Truth Social platform in which he called Biden "the most corrupt president in the history of the United States."

The tycoon concluded with the promise that he will put an end to the "destruction" of the country when he wins the 2024 presidential elections, for which he declared his candidacy in November.

However, he surprised with a compliment to the president: “I don't agree with him on most of his policies, but he put into words what he felt and ended the night much stronger than it started.

Give him credit for that,” she said.

washington correspondent

BC

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