United States President Joe Biden is delivering his last State of the Union address before the election later this year.
Biden’s annual address, an event that stems from the US Constitution’s requirement that a president report to Congress “from time to time”, is being held before a joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and a televised audience.
It may be the Democratic president’s biggest stage to reach the millions of voters weighing whether to vote for him, choose Republican challenger Trump, or sit out the 5 November election. Nikki Haley, Trump’s last remaining rival for his party’s presidential nomination, .
Opinion polls show Biden, 81, and Trump, 77, closely matched in the race. Most American voters are not enthusiastic about the rematch after Biden defeated Trump four years ago.
Biden will go into the well of the House chamber aiming to convince voters that he is fighting to protect democracy from Trump, who continues to repeat false claims about his 2020 election loss and has proposed jailing political enemies. Biden will also vow to protect abortion rights from Republicans and to lower costs for Americans facing high prices.
Democracy, taxes, and housing
“You’re going to hear the president address how democracy is under attack, how freedoms are certainly under attack,” including and voting rights, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told MSNBC on Thursday.
Biden will renew his quest to make wealthy Americans and corporations pay more in taxes, unveiling new proposals including higher minimum taxes for companies and Americans with wealth over US$100 million ($151 million).
Any such tax reform is unlikely unless Democrats win strong majorities in both houses of Congress in November, which is not forecast.
Opinion polls show Joe Biden, 81, and Donald Trump, 77, closely matched in the race for the White House. Source: AP / Andrew Harnik
Biden is also set to push for new measures to lower housing costs, including a US$10,000 ($15,100) tax credit for first-home buyers, and use his legislative successes on infrastructure and computer chip production to show what is possible if he is given another four years in office.
“Joe Biden is on the run from his record … to escape accountability for the horrific devastation he and his party have created,” Trump said before the speech on his Truth Social platform.
A Gaza announcement
Biden also is expected to try to cool anger among many liberal voters over his support for . Biden will announce during the speech that the US military will build a port on Gaza’s Mediterranean coast to receive humanitarian assistance by sea, US officials told reporters.
Some Democratic politicians were expected to wear ceasefire pins during the speech. A movement to end Israel’s Gaza offensive led to nearly a fifth of Minnesota Democratic voters selecting “uncommitted” rather than voting for Biden on Tuesday following a similar vote in Michigan’s Democratic primary last month.
Smoke rising from an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis in the southern part of the Gaza Strip on Thursday. Source: EPA / Atef Safadi
Ukraine, Israel aid push
Biden is expected to use the speech to push, again, for a US$95 billion ($143.5 billion) aid package for weapons to Ukraine and aid to Israel that Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has blocked.
Those priorities will also be reflected in the for the speech, including Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who is in Washington as , two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Donald Trump comparisons
The US economy is performing better than most high-income countries, with continued job growth and consumer spending. However, Republican voters tell pollsters they are deeply dissatisfied with the economy, and Americans overall give Trump better marks in polls for economic issues.
“We intend to remind voters of the chaos and lasting damage Trump caused as president,” Biden’s reelection campaign said.
Amid after a series of slip-ups, the president’s performance will be closely watched for signs of physical or mental weakness. Biden is expected to speak for at least an hour, reading from a teleprompter.
If is any guide, Republicans loyal to Trump who fought most of Biden’s legislative proposals for the past year could provide a raucous audience.
“This is a chance for him to really project and possibly allay some concerns about his age,” said Vanderbilt University presidential historian Thomas Alan Schwartz.
Other White House guests include people affected by in-vitro fertilisation or abortion restrictions, a veteran of the 1965 Bloody Sunday attack on Black marchers in Selma, Alabama, United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain and others.
While US senator Katie Britt of Alabama will deliver Republican’s formal response to the speech, Trump has said he plans to respond live online during Biden’s remarks.
