Not one slip of the tongue for Biden

ADDRESS: PRESIDENT CRACKS JOKES IN FIERY SPEECH

Many expected – or feared – Joe Biden would stumble as he addressed Congress in his final State of the Union Address before the November election. Instead, the oldest-yet US president came out swinging.

With jokes, retorts to hecklers, soaring rhetoric and a minimum of his customary mangled phrases, Biden defied critics.

Each stammer, slip of the tongue or confused look by Biden tends to be intensely scrutinised in the US as he runs for re-election – with Republicans painting each error as evidence that he cannot govern.

But Biden got cheers from his Democratic party members. “Four more years!” they chanted as Biden hammered his rivals and laid out the case for a second term with a pugnacious energy that seemed to bely his 81 years.

To the great relief of lawmakers in his party, acutely aware of how heavily his age is weighing in the presidential race, Biden was in rare form, showing stamina in an hour-plus speech, speaking in a clear tone and quick clip, taking jabs at Republicans and offering sprinkles of humour.

“I know it may not look like it, but I’ve been around a while,” he grinned.

His Democrats, many of them dressed in white in honour of women’s rights, lapped it up. They rose to their feet as he spoke, with the president even later compared to a fiery Baptist preacher.

Absent any major Biden blunders, the Republicans – many of them Donald Trump loyalists – remained in their seats and mostly held their tongues.

After a speech last year marred by repeated shouting, the new Republican speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, had implored his members not to stoop to heckling.

Still, some did, and Biden punched back with vigour.

Some acolytes of Trump, who is almost certain to face the incumbent Biden in November, sought to score points. As soon as Biden entered the crowded House chamber, congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, known for often outrageous antics, donned a red “Make American Great Again” cap as she approached the president.

Upon seeing her, Biden took a step back and let out a humorous “Oh!” Greene had made waves during last year’s State of the Union by calling the president a “liar”. On Thursday, several Republicans repeated the accusation, but Biden appeared unruffled.

A group of progressive women lawmakers wore Palestinian keffiyehs in protest of Biden’s support for Israel in the Gaza war.

When Biden addressed the Gaza crisis, Palestinian-born congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and others held up paddles with the message “stop sending bombs”. But Biden soldiered on. And on. After wrapping up, he stood around for more than 25 minutes, shaking hands, clapping backs, and taking selfies with congressmen. –