It’s unlikely Biden’s rambling State of the Union inspired Americans to ‘finish the job’

The state of the union is strong, declared Joe Biden at the end of an interminable 70 minutes. Unhappily, the nation disagrees. 

The latest read on consumer sentiment from the UMCSENT (University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment) was 64.9, which compares with 98.3 at the same moment of Trump’s presidency. 

Some 75% of the country thinks we’re on the wrong track (versus 59% under Trump) and, when asked by CBS News in a recent survey to describe our nation, 62% said “divided,” 49% responded with “declining” and 41% said “weak.”

Mr. President, with all due respect, that does not sound like a strong state of the union. 

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It was only one of Biden’s many misleading statements meant to convince the nation that he deserves another term. Given his halting and uneven presentation, which will only reinforce concerns about his age, good luck with that.

The president’s second State of the Union Speech was a rambling mash-up of impossible partisan ambitions (passing a billionaire’s tax, new funding for countless initiatives, banning assault weapons), proposed regulations that will complicate and slow our economy (promoting unions, dictating fees and personnel rules) new programs that will add to our unsustainable deficits, class warfare talking points and an extensive catalog of dishonest claims about this administration’s achievements. There was very little that was new.

The recurring theme: “Let’s finish the job,” addressing gun control, police reforms, cutting down on drug overdoses, capping drug prices, adopting universal preschool, alleviating the burden of student debt, improving veterans’ benefits and opportunities, repairing our infrastructure – you get the point – appeared a call for another four years.

Biden’s speech traveled so many roads and lanes and sidewalks it was impossible not to become distracted by Arizona Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s shocking yellow dress or first lady Jill Biden’s mask of anxious terror. 

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There was no architecture to the president’s pitch, and he failed to focus on just a few issues that might resonate with voters. Instead, he threw 50 topics on the wall in hopes that one or two would stick.

Consequently, the president failed to honestly address the issues that matter most to voters, which has been a frequent complaint about the Biden White House. 

Inflation, according to Gallup, is the country’s number one concern. As he has done before, Biden pinned the blame for rising prices on clogged supply chains coming out of the COVID lockdowns and on Putin’s war against Ukraine. 

He took no responsibility for the tsunami of federal benefits and relief programs that drove consumer spending to record levels, kept workers on the sidelines and started prices on their upward spiral. Nor did he propose a plan to cut government outlays.

He tiptoed into that arena only by again claiming that his White House had brought our deficit down – a true distortion of our fiscal picture these past few years. 

There was no architecture to the president’s pitch, and he failed to focus on just a few issues that might resonate with voters. Instead, he threw 50 topics on the wall in hopes that one or two would stick.

Yes, the deficit ticked down last year as some programs ended. But, as reported by the non-partisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, “Congress and the White House should have stopped engaging in new borrowing” in 2021. That did not happen. On the contrary, with new bills and executive orders, Biden expanded our budget deficits by $4.8 trillion and even today is eager to spend more on items like canceling student loans.

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Immigration is another top concern, and another responsibility that Biden handed off to someone else. Republicans in the chamber erupted when Biden reiterated his call for “comprehensive immigration reform” as critical to closing the border and shouted their disapproval when the president claimed the GOP had stood in the way of funding manpower and equipment needed to safeguard our border.

Given that the White House has purposefully allowed more than 5 million undocumented people to enter our country over the past two years because Joe Biden removed Trump measures that had cut down on illegal crossings, his passing the back is offensive. In fact, this White House has created a crisis not only along the border but in many Democrat-run cities and states across the country, costing Americans deeply. 

Elsewhere in the speech, Biden extolled the “rule of law;” there is nothing lawful about how the president has managed our border.

Another repugnant assertion from the president was that oil companies have benefitted unfairly from high oil prices and despite record profits have refused to invest in higher production. 

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Given that Joe Biden has made it clear on numerous occasions that he wants to end drilling for fossil fuels, and has taken steps like canceling the Keystone Pipeline and slow-walking oil leases and drilling permits to show his resolve, his blame-game on oil prices is beyond dishonest.

The most contentious comment of the evening, however, was when Biden accused “some” Republicans of wanting to “sunset” Social Security and Medicare. GOP legislators roared with anger over this recurring lie from Biden with which he hopes to frighten seniors into voting Democrat. 

Clearly stunned by the pushback, Biden, to his credit, turned it into a seeming win, by getting both sides of the aisle to agree that neither party would allow those major programs to be cut.

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Biden several times lauded the ability of Republicans and Democrats to work together, pushing what the White House calls his “unity agenda.” 

It is sad to note that the president, who campaigned on a promise to bring the country together, talks about unity only one day each year – when he gives his State of the Union address. 

This is, after all, the same president who days ago described the GOP as “fiscally demented,” who sneers about the extremism of MAGA Republicans, who described an entirely reasonable Georgia voting law as Jim Crow 2.0 and who falsely accused border agents of whipping migrants. 

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Biden calls for unity on SOTU day because the country wants civility and would like to see our two political parties work together. 

It’s his “Lucy and the football” promise; sorry Mr. President — we aren’t buying it. 

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