In his second State of the Union address, US President Joe Biden tried to convey multiple messages His administration was committed to rebuilding America’s economy while meeting its challenges abroad – under a larger theme. Much of the 72-minute speech was on the domestic agenda, particularly his economic optimism. The speech saw self-praise, opinion and rhetoric – he prided himself on his economic policies, emphasizing a low unemployment rate and reducing inflation, repeated calls for taxing the super-rich and lowering the prices of essential drugs, social promised not to cut security and Medicare and declared that democracies have become stronger and autocracies have become weaker. While there were no major policy changes, the 80-year-old president repeated the phrase “get the job done”, indicating he needed more time to build on the work he had already done – which his re-election campaign Seen as a pitch for Mr Biden also referred to Russia and China as major foreign policy challenges – the Ukraine invasion as “a test for America”, and that the US would “act to defend our country” if its sovereignty was threatened. is an indirect reference to the balloon incident.
If Mr. Biden used the speech to defend his legacy and lay out his vision, it also exposed significant challenges to his administration. To be sure, the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since 1969 – 3.4% in January 2023 – and inflation continued to ease in the month. Still, a majority of Americans (58% in a recent poll) remain unhappy with the way the economy is handling, burdened by high energy prices and slow wage growth. The president may have a plan to seek re-election, but only 37% of Democrats support him. Mr Biden will also face growing resistance to his policies from Congress in the Republican-controlled House. On foreign policy, the US has so far stood firmly behind Ukraine, but as the war progresses, questions are rising about a possible end. A major challenge for Mr. Biden is how to handle relations with China at a time when the two superpowers are competing for global influence. The balloon incident shows that this is not an easy task. Mr. Biden’s first term is halfway through. As election season heats up, time is running short and he has his work cut out for him – he must act more decisively on the economic front if he wants to create a fair order of competition and opportunity, without waging war in Ukraine. Wants to work towards ending it. Compromise the US position in Europe, and put strong guardrails in US-China relations to prevent escalation of tensions and deterioration of relations.