Biden basks in rare acclaim after successful State of the Union

Something unusual happened last night in Washington. A set piece public appearance went well for Joe Biden.

The under-fire President delivered a 68-minute State of the Union speech to Congress that was gaffe-free and full of fiery jabs at his “predecessor”. It has been widely viewed as a rare oratorical triumph for the 81-year-old.

The concern among Democrats, and anyone else who wants to avoid Donald Trump returning as President, was that Biden would stumble. Instead, his remarks were robust and his style confident: “The state of our Union is strong and getting stronger,” he said. “When America gets knocked down, we get back up. We keep going!” It galvanised his side of the room. 

His main goal was to clearly distinguish himself from his controversial, probable competitor Donald Trump. Mentioning his “predecessor” 13 times but never naming him, Biden accused he who shall not be named of “bowing down” to Russia and being weak in the face of Vladimir Putin’s aggression. Rather than Trump’s isolationist stance, Biden said: “My message to Presiden Putin, who I’ve known for a long time, is simple: we will not walk away.”

Trump’s campaign rhetoric has been about revenge. He has said that a second Trump presidency would be about retribution for a stolen election and getting justice against a “deep state” that has tried to put him in jail. On this front, Biden said that other people his age see the American story as one of  “resentment, revenge and retribution.” But not all-American Joe, he said he will “give hate no safe harbour”.

Biden said Trump also failed to properly handle the pandemic: “My predecessor failed the most basic duty any president owes the American people – the duty to care. That is unforgivable.”

For lunch Biden had feasted on chicken parm (breaded chicken with parmesan) and been briefed by six of his closest advisors at Camp David. Maybe he should have that for lunch more often.

At one uncomfortable moment, Republican U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who just a day earlier had told Emily Maitlis to “f*ck off”, heckled Biden when he began speaking about Laken Riley. Riley was a student from Georgia who was killed by a man who illegally crossed the Southern US-Mexico border. Yesterday, the Laken Riley Bill passed requiring the detention of any migrant who committed burglary or theft. The President was fairly smooth in saying he understood Riley’s parents’ grief as he had lost a child himself. 

Genuine comedy swiftly followed the address. Senator Katie Britt delivered the GOP’s official response from her kitchen – a setting which even some Republicans questioned as potentially sexist. Peppering in “y’all” to remind us that she’s from the South (Alabama, to be precise), she said Biden just didn’t get it. In an earnest, overly-dramatic video she said her own example of realising the American dream was “breathtaking” – and then she actually took a breath.

The Biden speech attracted plaudits, with even a Republican strategist saying he “nailed it”.

The contest in November now looks set to be a rematch.

Donald Trump has the nomination and is strengthening his hold over the Republican party. Trump’s daughter-in-law will take a leadership post at the Republican National Committee, it was confirmed today.

Trump also appealed E. Jean Carroll’s $83.3 million defamation verdict while Biden has kicked off his tour of battleground states with his election campaign now in full flow. 

There are 241 days until the election.