The Daily Telegraph - Saturday
Joe came out fighting – but can he keep it up?
AS HE prepared for his biggest speech of the year, Joe Biden had a lot to prove. The ageing president is down in the polls, unpopular with many of his own voters, and struggling to pass legislation to control illegal migration and fund Ukraine’s war effort.
He is battling the perception, once encapsulated in his nickname “Sleepy Joe”, that he no longer has the fight to stay in the White House after this year’s election.
But the shuffling, confused president sometimes seen in press conferences and campaign stops was left at the door during his hour-long State of the Union address.
Thanks to hours of preparation and rehearsal, Mr Biden managed on Thursday night to avoid the gaffes that have plagued his last three years in office. Democrats hope that this speech is the start of a new approach for the president that will give him momentum into November’s election.
The 81-year-old attempted to make a virtue of his age, presenting himself as a child of the Second World War who had seen decades of American freedom in action.
At times, Mr Biden was angry in the delivery of his core message: that American democracy is under threat from the man he referred to only as “my predecessor”. Donald Trump was presented as a threat to the nation who would undermine elections, sabotage the fight for minority rights and help Vladimir Putin in his pursuit of territory in Europe.
“Not since President Lincoln and the Civil War have freedom and democracy been under assault here at home as they are today,” Mr Biden said.
There was also an attempt to rescue his reputation among young liberals who have opposed his stance on the war in Gaza. Addressing the Israeli government, the President highlighted the death toll of Palestinians since Oct 7, arguing: “Humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip.”
There were glimmers of the President Biden we know well. He fluffed a line on drug prices, appearing to encourage Americans to fly to
The shuffling, confused president seen in press conferences was left at the door during his address
Moscow to get cheaper prescriptions, and stumbled over some of his words as he tried to maintain his pace.
Marjorie Taylor Greene delivered a trademark heckle, raising the death of Laken Riley, a college student allegedly killed by an illegal migrant last month. In response, Mr Biden mistakenly referred to the woman as “Lincoln”.
In the fight against Mr Trump, the president is also battling a weary electorate who feel he no longer has the spark he exhibited in 2020. More than three quarters of voters say that they think he is too old to serve again.
Mr Biden is expected to face Mr Trump in live debates later this year, where his supporters hope he can repeat Thursday’s performance. But without weeks of preparation and a script, he may find it difficult to deliver his pitch with the same panache.
The election will be decided by a group of moderates in swing states, many of whom may have voted for Nikki Haley in the Republican primary.
The speech was a chance for the president to begin to win over a broad-based coalition of support that would allow him to beat Mr Trump. On Thursday, the president showed he – sometimes – still has what it takes to make a forceful case for a second term. His supporters will be left asking: can he keep it up?