State of the Union 2023: Chinese spy balloon isn’t only thing floating over Biden speech
Christian Datoc
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President Joe Biden will use his second State of the Union address to celebrate his legislative successes over the past year, yet the speech will likely be overshadowed by controversies.
The president managed to usher in packages protecting same-sex marriage and taking steps to curb gun violence, but, as Biden prepares to head to Capitol Hill, many voters are still questioning Biden’s foreign and military policy, economic stewardship, and safe handling of sensitive government documents.
These following three areas in particular will loom large over his State of the Union of Feb. 7 and a potential reelection campaign announcement in the days and weeks following.
Balloons and bombs
Despite passing legislation with Democrats’ razor-thin majorities, lackluster foreign policy was a defining factor of Biden’s first two years in office.
The president was able to stand up an international coalition supporting Ukraine, but increased pressure from the newly seated Republican majority in the House could threaten the “as long as it takes” mindset Biden has pledged to the Ukrainians.
Meanwhile, the incident with a Chinese spy balloon has aggravated the United States’s fraught relationship with China. Three senior GOP aides all pointed to recent comments made by Air Force Gen. Mike Minihan predicting war with China by 2025 as evidence of deteriorating relations with Beijing.
“The Biden administration has driven U.S. foreign policy off a cliff. The president is failing to do what’s necessary to help Ukraine end this war, all while ignoring the looming threat of the CCP,” one GOP aide told the Washington Examiner.
The classified documents
The investigation into Biden’s mishandling of classified documents is simultaneously undermining two stated goals of the administration: conducting the most transparent White House in U.S. history and differentiating the president from his chief political rival, former President Donald Trump.
Biden lambasted his predecessor in the latter half of 2022 both for taking classified documents with him to Mar-a-Lago and obstructing the Justice Department’s attempts to probe the severity of Trump’s actions.
“How that could possibly happen, how one anyone could be that irresponsible,” Biden said in a 60 Minutes interview when asked about Trump’s scandal. “I thought what data was in there that may compromise sources and methods.”
But when his own document mishandling came to light, Biden and White House aides have refused to admit wrongdoing on the part of the president, all while blurring the line between selective sharing and outright lying about the details of the investigation.
Unlike Trump, the Biden team is believed to have cooperated with the Justice Department‘s investigation from the outset, yet the administration itself has repeatedly made claims about the timeline — including a November search of Biden’s Wilmington, Delaware, home that wasn’t disclosed until February — that were proved false days later.
Even Democrats, like Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), have criticized Biden on the subject, with one senior Democratic official expressing serious concerns to the Washington Examiner about the role the investigation will play in a Biden reelection campaign.
“This isn’t nearly as bad as what Trump did, and I don’t think the average American voter cares as much as people in the D.C. bubble, but attacking the last guy on this would be classic pot-kettle behavior,” that official flatly stated. “It’s an unfortunate, unforced error.”
Inflation nation
According to the White House, Biden hopes to amplify his economic achievements during the State of the Union, and he does have several reasons to cheer.
Twelve million jobs created during his first two years of office, coupled with a 3.4% unemployment rate in January, has Biden convinced the U.S. will avoid slipping into another major recession.
“The state of our economy is strong,” the president said in response to the latest jobs report. “Today’s data makes crystal clear what I’ve always known in my gut. These critics and cynics are wrong. While we may face setbacks along the way, and there will be some with more work to do, it’s clear. Our plan is working because of the grit and resolve of the American worker.”
Still, prices skyrocketed during Biden’s term, with annual inflation registering 6.4% in December 2022, compared to 1.4% in January 2021. And though prices have marginally decreased since peaking over the summer, inflation continues to outpace wage growth, resulting in roughly 40% of people saying they are worse off financially since Biden took office.
Presented with those concerns Monday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre instead chose to focus on the positives and suggested Biden would do the same Tuesday night.
“The president will underscore the progress we have made during one of the most challenging times in history and the progress the American people want us to continue to make by working together in this year ahead,” she told reporters during Monday’s White House press briefing. “The president has carried out his economic vision, growing the economy from the bottom up, middle out, instead of from the top down.”
“He has transformed how we see the economy,” Jean-Pierre continued. “You’re going to continue to hear from him about giving the American people a little bit more of a breathing room because this is something that he understands, personally. So tomorrow is going to be a big opportunity for the president to speak directly to the American people, the millions of people who will be watching and who will be wanting to hear from their president, and he takes this incredibly seriously.”
‘Don’t run, Joe!’
A recent poll from NBC News showed the public’s staggeringly poor perception of the president, even after bipartisan legislative successes and Democrats beating expectations in the midterm elections.
According to NBC’s data, 46% of registered voters approve of the job Biden has done as president, 36% approve of his economic stewardship, and just 41% approve of his foreign policy.
Even more troubling for Biden, who frequently frames modern politics as a battle for the “soul” of the country, is his scoring in idealistic areas.
Asked if Biden is “honest and trustworthy,” just 34% responded affirmatively. Only 32% believe he has “the ability to handle a crisis,” and 31% view him as “competent and effective.” Furthermore, a dismal 28% view Biden as “having the necessary mental and physical health to be president.”
As for “uniting the country,” the president won approval from just 23% of all respondents.
These feelings, according to a separate poll published Sunday by the Washington Post, are driving an outright majority of Democrats to wish someone other than the current president receives the Democratic nomination this coming election.
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Only 31% of Democrats are backing a Biden reelection campaign, 13 points lower than Republicans who support Trump’s third White House bid.