TagBiden

• Joe Biden is known for his ability to handle tough crowds, which was evident at the State of the Union address.
• Seven years ago, Biden was sent to sell the Iran nuclear deal to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a hostile crowd.
• Biden used his political charm and personal attachment to Israel to win over the room and exited to a standing ovation.
• Last night, Biden exceeded expectations with his folksy, straightforward speech, even winning over some critics.
• Biden also enjoyed the heckling from Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, turning her into a prop in his performance.
• Biden’s opponents have consistently underestimated him, setting low expectations that he has easily surpassed.

Published February 8, 2023
Visit The Atlantic to read Yair Rosenberg’s original post Republicans Keep Underestimating Joe Biden

• President Joe Biden gave a raucous and argumentative State of the Union address, previewing what will likely be key themes of his 2024 reelection campaign.
• Biden leaned into his populist “Scranton Joe” persona, sparring with congressional Republicans and calling for national unity around shared goals, particularly delivering economic benefits to working families.
• Biden’s emphasis on economic concerns reflects his belief that the best way to counter the GOP’s cultural notes is to downplay culture-war fights and define himself primarily around a practical agenda to lift average families.
• Biden’s speech showed a contrast to former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders’s bellicose GOP response, which summoned “normal” Americans to rise up against a “woke mob” allegedly erasing American values and traditions.
• Polling suggests that Biden has not yet convinced most Americans that his economic agenda will benefit them.
• Biden’s speech continued a recalibration of his promise to unify America and work across party lines, differentiating between “mainstream” Republicans and “extreme MAGA” forces.
• Biden forcefully called on Republicans to pass a “clean” increase in the nation’s debt ceiling, and pledged to veto any effort to undo the provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act that reduce drug prices, any legislation imposing a national ban on abortion, and any efforts to cut Social Security and Medicare.

Published February 8, 2023
Visit The Atlantic to read Ronald Brownstein’s original post Feisty Joe Biden Is Back

• 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