WASHINGTON \u2014 President Joe Biden used his State of the Union address Thursday evening to try again to convince voters his policies on economic issues have made their lives better.<\/p>\n
The 81-year-old Biden stepped to the lectern in the House chamber amid questions and concerns from Republican lawmakers about his age and mental capacity. The president delivered the prime-time address while also battling dismal poll numbers on his job performance, favorability, handling of key kitchen table issues and ability to serve another four-year term.<\/p>\n
As expected, Biden defended his record on the economy and described it as fundamentally strong \u2014 and better than he inherited from former President Donald Trump, his likely general election foe. <\/p>\n
\u201cI inherited an economy that was on the brink. Now our economy is the envy of the world. Fifteen million new jobs in just three years \u2013 that\u2019s a record,\u201d Biden said as Speaker Mike Johnson shook his head behind him. \u201cUnemployment at 50-year lows. A record 16 million Americans are starting small businesses and each one is an act of hope.\u201d<\/p>\n
That defense came as voters\u2019 perceptions are the opposite, with many telling pollsters they disapprove of how Biden has managed the economy, and especially inflation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI came to office determined to get us through one of the toughest periods in our nation\u2019s history. And we have,\u201d he said, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t make the news, but in thousands of cities and towns the American people are writing the greatest comeback story never told,\u201d Biden told the joint session of Congress. \u201cAmerica\u2019s comeback is building a future of American possibilities, building an economy from the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down, investing in all of America \u2014 in all Americans \u2014 to make sure everyone has a fair shot and we leave no one behind.\u201d<\/p>\n
White House officials and congressional Democrats spent the week previewing the speech as, in part, an explanation of how Biden was attempting to improve Americans\u2019 personal finances. \u201cDemocrats are focused on lowering costs, creating jobs, putting money in people\u2019s pockets,\u201d Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the chamber floor Thursday morning.<\/p>\n
Biden continued that theme from the well of the House chamber, flanked by Vice President Kamala Harris and Johnson, the Louisiana Republican who is closely aligned with Trump. Their handshake as Biden arrived amounted to a rare meeting of Team Biden and Team Trump.<\/p>\n
Johnson released a video<\/a> earlier Thursday pre-butting many of the messages Biden was expected to deliver, hitting the president on the economy, crime rates, global conflicts and the China-Russia alliance.<\/p>\n \u201cIn just three years, President Biden\u2019s policies have rapidly accelerated American decline on every issue from the economy to national security and foreign policy,\u201d Speaker Johnson said. \u201cThe American people don\u2019t need empty words on a page for a \u2018reset\u2019; we need better policies and a real leader.\u201d<\/p>\n Johnson\u2019s face grimaced in disagreement as Biden slammed the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol rioters, saying \u201cthey came to stop the peaceful transfer of power.\u201d Johnson shook his head before clapping when the president said, \u201cYou cannot love your country only when you win.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump released his own pre-buttal video, hitting Biden for high immigration rates and blaming him for \u201c migrant crime<\/a>.\u201d Trump again promised, if elected again, to carry out the largest deportation program in U.S. history.<\/p>\n The president did not utter Trump\u2019s name, but he did allude to the 45th chief executive in the latest version of his preserving-democracy push.<\/p>\n \u201cMy lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy,\u201d he said. \u201cA future based on the core values that have defined America: honesty, decency, dignity, equality. To respect everyone. To give everyone a fair shot. To give hate no safe harbor. Now some other people my age see a different story: an American story of resentment, revenge, and retribution. That\u2019s not me.\u201d<\/p>\n He also addressed federal abortion rights, a big issue for some Democratic and swing voters. He urged Americans to hand Democrats control of the House and Senate \u2014 and reelect him \u2014 as part of a vow to restore federal abortion rights protections. \u201cIf Americans send me a Congress that supports the right to choose I promise you: I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n While much of the speech focused on domestic issues, Biden spent ample time focused on global affairs, including the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.<\/p>\n On the Russia-Ukraine war, Biden made it his first topic. Without using Trump\u2019s name, Biden quoted his recent comment that he would tell Russia \u201cthey can do whatever the hell they want,\u201d calling the remark \u201coutrageous, it\u2019s dangerous and it\u2019s unacceptable.\u201d Many Republicans remained seated while most Democrats rose and roared.<\/p>\n But top congressional Republicans have slammed the commander in chief for his handling of foreign policy, blaming him for the Israel-Hamas war and the Russia-Ukraine conflict \u2014 even as House Republicans continue blocking an emergency supplemental spending measure that would send billions to Israel, Ukraine and help with the humanitarian crisis inside Gaza.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s difficult to think of a pledge the president abandoned more completely than his campaign promise to restore respect for America on the world stage today,\u201d Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on the chamber floor Thursday.<\/p>\n Still, Biden told the American people about halfway through his speech that \u201cit\u2019s because of you that tonight we can proudly say the State of our Union is strong and getting stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n A new poll by Voters of Tomorrow, a nonpartisan group that seeks to harness the political power of Gen Z voters, and Generation Lab found that young voters strongly prefer Biden over Trump, 42 percent to Trump\u2019s 29 percent. Fifty-seven percent of those surveyed said they agree or strongly agree that a cease-fire is needed in Gaza but the war was listed as a top-three concern by just 16 percent.<\/p>\n Biden has sometimes criticized the Israeli government\u2019s response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack inside the Jewish state, but has not called for its military operation to be permanently halted, frustrating Arab American groups and many progressives.<\/p>\n Hundreds of pro-cease-fire protestors were sitting on Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House and Capitol as late as 8:30 p.m. Eastern tme.<\/p>\n The 46th president had an uphill climb with voters, according to multiple polls \u2014 despite the 45th president facing 91 criminal charges, which polls show does not seem to be dissuading voters.<\/p>\nBleak polls<\/h3>\n