As Phil previewed, Biden’s allies and opponents alike have smartly set the bar for this performance very low – basically moderate cogence and some observable vigor. Biden is easily meeting those expectations.
The only way this speech will differ from Biden’s speech at the Democratic convention in Chicago this summer is that tonight, Biden will try to avoid mentioning Donald Trump by name.
Biden quotes Reagan’s tear down this wall speech. Reagan, days after it: “some talk about Sen. Biden—now candidate for Pres. I saw him on CNN last night speaking to the [JFK] school at Harvard U. He’s smooth but pure demagog[ue] — out to save Am[erica] from the Reagan doctrine.”
Biden: “the threat to democracy must be defended.”
The tepid applause for Finland was just the way the Finns would like it.
Biden starts on the campaign themes early in his speech, attacking Republicans who blocked Ukraine aid and Trump, albeit not by name, for inviting Russian President Vladimir Putin to “do whatever the hell you want” to America’s NATO allies who fail to contribute the equivalent of 2 percent of GDP to defense. “Bowing down to a Russian leader,” Biden remarked. “I think it’s outrageous, it’s dangerous, and it’s unacceptable.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, but nevertheless tonally off-key, Biden’s speech so far is much more like a campaign speech than a traditional State of the Union. Did he even repeat the old line about the union being strong, or did I miss that?
Biden quotes Reagan: “Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” He neglects to mention that Biden spent that month – June 1987 – blasting the “Reagan Doctrine,” leading Reagan to call Biden a “pure demagogue” in his diary.
Biden sends a powerful message by invoking FDR, who died in office.
Biden likes to make FDR comparisons because he worked so closely with the administration back during the war.