State of the Union Recap
Carla Paz
On March 1st, 2022, President Joe Biden addressed the nation in his first State of the Union address. President Biden addressed the nation’s questions about the war between Russia and Ukraine, COVID-19 mandates being lifted, inflation, and a “Unity agenda.” This address is delivered during a low approval rate for Biden. According to NPR, his ratings are “his worst approval ratings on a host of issues and a majority of the country is saying his first year in office was a failure.” However, since the address, his ratings have gone up.
One of the first things Biden addressed in his State of the Union speech was the war in Ukraine. Almost all of Congress wore blue and gold pins or flags to show Ukrainian support. For the first time in what seems like decades, both Republicans and Democrats have come together in their support. Biden praised Ukrainian president Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people for their “fearlessness, courage, and determination.” In terms of our involvement in Ukraine, Biden announced economic sanctions that will be put on Russian products and services, such as banks and airlines. The U.S. will also provide military, economic, and humanitarian assistance. President Biden made it clear that U.S. troops will not be fighting in Ukraine, though troops will be sent to NATO allies in case of a Russian invasion. To quell the incoming price increases on gas, the U.S., along with thirty other countries, will release 60 million barrels of oil.
After President Biden’s remarks on the Ukrainian crisis, he speaks about rebuilding America after the past two years in the pandemic. One issue Americans are concerned about is inflation, to which Biden responded, “I get it, that's why my top priority is getting prices under control.” In this part of his speech, he promoted the benefits of American-made products. President Biden explained, "Make more cars and semiconductors in America. More infrastructure and innovation in America. More goods moving faster and cheaper in America. More jobs where you can earn a good living in America. And instead of relying on foreign supply chains, let's make it in America.” His hope for inflation is that as COVID-19 cases go down, inflation will also go down.
During his speech, President Biden painted a picture of an America rebuilt after the two tough years of the pandemic. He announced that an antiviral pill would be distributed to those vulnerable to COVID-19 . He also reinforced the message that everyone should get vaccinated and boosted. To help the US economy, Biden called for Americans to “fill our downtowns,” keep schools open, and get back to work. The next day, the White House announced a plan to move forward from the pandemic.
President Biden announced his four-part “Unity agenda,” a plan focusing on mental health, support for veterans, means to combat the opioid epidemic, and cancer research. Later on, he spoke about how to handle policing; he calls for more funding for police. The President said in his speech, “We should all agree: The answer is not to defund the police. The answer is to fund the police. Fund them with the resources and training they need to protect our communities." Biden formulated this plan to create a middle-ground between Democrats and Republicans.
Since the State of the Union address, President Biden’s approval ratings have increased. According to Lee Miringoff, the approval rating is “an unusual bounce,” and “it gets him back to where he was pre-Afghanistan." The ratings reached 47%, which is unusual for a president to earn after a single address. There have been only six times when a State of the Union address led to approval ratings going up. Former President Bill Clinton had his approval rating increased three times after his addresses. Biden’s handling of the Ukraine crisis has gone up to 52%, the handling of the pandemic is now 55%, and Biden’s handling of economics is now 45%. In terms of sanctions put on Russia, 83% of Americans support it, including 8 out of 10 Republicans. Overall, President Biden did unite the nation through his response to the conflict in Ukraine. However, he still has a long way to go in terms of uniting the country on other issues.
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