State of the Union 2024: Biden comes face-to-face with Republican critics and Democratic skeptics

President Joe Biden is about to be introduced by the House of Representatives‘s Sergeant-at-Arms before his 2024 State of the Union address, a prime-time opportunity for him to make a general election pitch to the public, days before former President Donald Trump becomes the presumptive Republican primary nominee.

But although the president is expected to appeal to Republican lawmakers and independent voters with his “Unity Agenda,” he also has to prove himself to Democrats, some of whom have concerns about his age and others who disapprove of his response to the Israel-Hamas war.

Instead of dismissing criticism of his age, Biden is poised to embrace it, reminding the public that, at 81, he is only four years older than Trump, 77. But while underscoring that similarity, he is simultaneously set to emphasize their differences, particularly regarding their policy position on abortion and their personal perspective on democracy.

“My lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy,” Biden will say Thursday, according to excerpts of his remarks as prepared for delivery shared by the White House. “A future based on the core values that have defined America: honesty, decency, dignity, equality. To respect everyone. To give everyone a fair shot. To give hate no safe harbor.”

“Now some other people my age see a different story: an American story of resentment, revenge, and retribution,” he will add. “That’s not me.”

Biden’s State of the Union, which the White House’s daily guidance indicates could be 90 minutes long, is taking place at a critical juncture of his presidency and campaign. Though he and his aides seemed to have welcomed a 2020 general election rematch between himself and Trump, the former president has an average 3 percentage point polling advantage over him, despite contending with multiple criminal indictments.

Biden’s polling can be partly attributed to public perception regarding the economy, with Bidenomics being another topic he will speak about during his State of the Union.

“I came to office determined to get us through one of the toughest periods in our nation’s history,” he will say. “And we have. It doesn’t make the news, but in thousands of cities and towns the American people are writing the greatest comeback story never told.”

“So let’s tell that story here and now,” he will continue. “America’s comeback is building a future of American possibilities, building an economy from the middle out and the bottom up – not the top down, investing in all of America — in all Americans — to make sure everyone has a fair shot and we leave no one behind.”

Talking about the economy is a balancing act that necessitates Biden citing his accomplishments of low unemployment, while being mindful that the public is still feeling the pinch of inflation.

To that end, he will announce more populist economic policies, including raising the corporate tax to 28%, increasing the minimum income tax for billionaires to 25%, and expanding Medicare taxes for the wealthy, according to the White House. He is also anticipated to amplify his new pricing strike task force, how he has decreased drug prices and reduced junk fees, as well as canceling $138 billion in student loans for 3.9 million people.

Biden’s State of the Union guest list including Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson suggests he will argue for more funding for Ukraine.

But the addition of only Navy Commander Shelby Nikitin, who was awarded the Bronze Star for her leadership aboard the USS Thomas Hudner when it was attacked by Houthis in the Red Sea, and not anyone connected more directly to the Israel-Hamas war could rankle more liberal Democrats.

Pro-Palestinian ceasefire protesters, for example, closed down Pennsylvania Ave., his most direct motorcade route to the U.S. Capitol, an hour before his appearance. The White House, however, did earlier preview that Biden would announce he is ordering the U.S. military to construct a temporary seaport in Gaza, creating another entry point for humanitarian aid.

With Biden’s other notable guests including Kate Cox, the mother-of-two who could not terminate a pregnancy in Texas last year after the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain, and Maria Shriver, another familiar in the House chamber will be former New York Republican Rep. George Santos.

“No comment,” Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY), who last month won a special election to replace the expelled Santos, told the Washington Examiner.

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Johnson this week asked Republicans for “decorum” during the State of the Union, but Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who last year called Biden a “liar,” said that depended on the president.

Biden is scheduled to take his State of the Union message, workshopped last weekend at Camp David, on the road in Pennsylvania on Friday and in Georgia on Saturday.

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