President Joe Biden is set to deliver his fourth State of the Union address this evening in the House of Representatives chamber of the United States Capitol.
While the event is held annually, this year’s speech is considered more significant because the themes covered will likely be similar to those he will tout leading into the November election. From the list of guests invited to join First Lady Jill Biden, it is speculated that the address will center immigration, abortion and freedom of speech.
“Who the president invites to be in the room says a lot about the values, the vision and the strategy for the election,” said Kamy Akhavan, executive director of the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future. “The basic idea is that, for many people, reproductive rights are at stake in this next election. Reproductive rights is a motivating issue for people in battleground states.”
Mothers unable to obtain abortions in their respective states, the first person born via in-vitro fertilization (IVF) in the United States and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson are among the guests of the president and first lady, according to reports by USA Today.
With the guest list in order, Biden’s campaign for the upcoming election is also predicted to touch on abortion rights and NATO alliances, and since the president has done very few speaking engagements and little campaigning thus far, some politics experts speculate that tonight may be the biggest of his presidency.
“He has been putting his eggs into the State of the Union speech so he can carefully construct and craft his message, and how that message is perceived,” Akhavan said. “He’s really, really motivated to do an exceptional job with tonight’s talks. For him, the stakes are high.”
Daniel Schnur, a professor in political communications, agrees with Akhavan’s sentiment, stating that the success of this speech is of paramount importance.
“Right now, he is behind Donald Trump in public opinion polls. Tonight’s speech will allow him to reach a larger audience until he accepts his party’s nomination,” Schnur said. “He will be laying out his agenda, trying to unite his party, trying to draw contrast between the Republicans. It’s a lot to do in one speech.”
On the Republican side of things, House Speaker Mike Johnson invited the parents of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who remains detained in Russia on espionage charges. And while Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, declined Biden’s invitation, it’s clear Russia will be top of everyone’s minds at the event.
While some may consider the event to be political theater, the topics discussed will more than likely set the stage for Biden’s talking points heading into the November election.
“It is essentially the president’s road map. This particular State of the Union is of even more importance because you’ll hear Biden say ‘This is what I’ll do over the next four years if you give me another chance,’” Schnur said. “He’s not going to talk about Donald Trump. It’s a presidential address, not a campaign talk.”
While the current president won’t be talking about former President Trump, the same can’t be said for the latter. Ahead of the speech, Trump said he would be “truth checking” the president on Truth Social, with Tucker Carlson announcing he would be doing the same.
The State of the Union address will be live-streamed Thursday at 6 p.m. PST on the official White House website. Following the speech, Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) will deliver the Republican rebuttal.