• In 2009, Republican Congressman Joe Wilson shouted “You lie!” during President Barack Obama’s speech to a joint session of Congress, shocking viewers.
• More than a decade later, Republicans heckled and shouted during President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address.
• Biden used the interruptions to reinforce his message, accusing “some” Republicans of plotting to sunset Social Security and Medicare.
• Biden’s speech was based on shrewd and unapologetic hyper-partisanship, pushing Republicans on pain point after pain point.
• Biden also bid against Republicans on economic nationalism, equating imports with job losses and exports with job gains.
• Biden’s speech was less a plan of action and more a plan of attack for the next election, as he hopes to contest it.
Published February 7, 2023
Visit The Atlantic to read David Frum’s original post How Biden Successfully Baited Congressional Republicans
