A smiling president Biden looked optimistic for most of his 73-minute speech in the House Chamber last night. He focused on topics like healthcare and the economy. His calls for bipartisanship and goals for police reform and gun control were delivered with a sense of hope that proved to be the theme of the address.
JOE BIDEN: “Because the soul of this nation is strong. The backbone of this nation is strong. Because the people of this nation are strong. The state of the union is strong.”
But that didn’t sit well with some Republican’s. There were moments President Biden was met with heckles from Republicans yelling things like “liar” from the seats of their chamber.
The GOP’s response was delivered by Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders who criticized the “craziness” of Democratic policies.
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS: “The Democrats have failed you. They know it and you know it. And it’s time for a change.”
But Senior Fellow for the Center on Communication Leadership and Policy at USC Annenberg, Morley Winograd says the State of the Union address was a “performance of the ages.”
MORLEY WINOGRAD: “Nobody in the Democratic Party is going to challenge a guy with that with that kind of political and policy expertise.”
Morley attributes Biden’s ability to appeal to the concerns of blue collar workers. And he says the response Biden provoked amongst the Republicans was one of the best components of his speech.
WINOGRAD: “It was a classic six pack working Joe Biden from Scranton, Pennsylvania, speech with a lot of focus on what working class people have experienced, a lot of sympathy for it.”
Morley predicts the speech will result in a temporary 5 point boost in approval ratings bumping it up as high as 50% but in fact, it’s even higher. The CNN Flash Poll has his approval rating sitting at 72%. Though this number will likely fall, it will provide a target for the 2024 Biden campaign.
WINOGRAD: “They seem to be convinced that they have found their political lodestar. And there’s nothing in the fact that they keep losing elections and that their candidates are not successful and don’t win when they should. None of that has moved them off that position.”
With the primaries on the horizon, Democrats may look to ride the momentum from Biden’s speech into a possible successful re-election campaign.
For Annenberg Media, I’m Alexa Hernandez Diaz