By EFE
08 Mar 2024, 12:49 PM EST
Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech had his sights set on the November elections and on his foreseeable rival, Republican Donald Trump, who without being mentioned by name garnered criticism and warnings.
Before the two chambers of Congress, with the Democratic bench supporting him with constant applause and ovations and the conservative bench reproaching and booing him, the president spoke for just over an hour to defend his management and, with it, criticize the danger that in his opinion his adversary might suppose.
“Unlike my predecessor, I know who we are as Americans. “We are the only nation in the world with a heart and soul that emanates from the old and the new,” he said, making a plea for unity without demonizing immigration.
This was the third time he appeared before legislators to be held accountable and the last before the November presidential elections decide whether he remains in the White House or if Trump takes over.
Both candidates emerged strengthened from the Super Tuesday primaries this past March 5, a day in which fifteen states held primaries, but the president’s popularity is going through a difficult moment: according to the average of polls on the FiveThirtyEight website, 56.3%. Citizens do not approve of his work, 26 points more than at the beginning of his mandate.
The current president also bears the responsibility of the United States’ support for Israel and his lukewarm condemnation of the offensive on Gaza. Supporters of a ceasefire, in fact, blocked the main access route to the Capitol this Thursday with banners that stated that the president’s legacy is “genocide,” making his speech start about 20 minutes late.
Biden assured that he is working “tirelessly” for an immediate and temporary ceasefire in Gaza that allows the release of Hamas hostages and the entry of humanitarian aid to the enclave and, as the White House had anticipated, he ordered the US Army to enable a port in the Strip that makes the entry of that assistance possible.
The president needed not only to maintain his acolytes, but also to prevent the punishment vote from having a significant impact on him at the polls, especially among young people. On Super Tuesday, in states like Minnesota, blank ballots were close to 20%.
Biden, 81, presented himself energetically and without notable hesitation in his oratory. He had those who doubt his physical and mental ability to govern pending and was aware of the questioning to which he is subjected.
“The issue facing our nation is not how old we are, but how old our ideas are. Hatred, anger and revenge are among the oldest ideas. (…) You cannot lead the United States with old ideas that take us back,” she said.
Biden versus Trump
His promises for that eventual mandate showed the contrast with what in his opinion awaits the country if Trump wins in November. “What makes this moment strange is that freedom and democracy are under attack, both at home and abroad at the same time,” he noted.
Biden therefore asked congressmen not to “bury the truth” of what happened on January 6, 2021, the day a horde of Trumpists attacked the Capitol while his electoral victory was being certified, and at the same time urged them to give the face in favor of fair and free elections.
And in his defense of democracy abroad he maintained his firm support for countries like Ukraine over Russia. “My message to President (Vladímir) Putin is clear. We will not withdraw. We will not give in, I will not give in. History is watching us,” he warned.
Internally, he also proposed increasing the minimum corporate tax to 21% and for large fortunes to pay a minimum of 25% of their income, as well as ending tax savings for large pharmaceutical companies, large oil companies, private planes and payment giants. to executives.
Meanwhile, from his social network Truth Social, Trump commented live on his successor’s intervention with a mocking and offensive tone, which targeted both the president and his ideas: “He is angry and crazy,” he said of whom, if there is no surprise capital letter, will face him again on November 5.
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