Joe Biden has vowed to work with political rivals in his latest State of the Union address. Republicans say Biden is ‘unfit’ to be president.
The US president was speaking before Congress for the first time since Republicans took control of the House of Representatives last month. While he acknowledged that America’s democracy is bruised, Mr Biden stressed it is “unbowed and unbroken”.
The Democrat said “there is no reason we can’t work together in this new Congress” – and Americans crave unity. He added: “The people sent us a clear message. Fighting for the sake of fighting, power for the sake of power, conflict for the sake of conflict, gets us nowhere … We’ve been sent here to finish the job!”
A recent opinion poll put Mr Biden’s approval rating at 41%, which is close to the lowest level of his presidency. Right now, 65% of Americans believe the country is on the wrong track, compared with 58% a year ago.
Like the UK, the US has also been suffering from red-hot levels of inflation in recent months but the Federal Reserve is expecting “significant declines” throughout 2023. Mr Biden’s speech was designed to set an optimistic tone ahead of a second presidential campaign in 2024, which is expected to launch in a matter of weeks.
He turned 80 years old in November and would be 82 if re-elected for a second term and recent polls suggest this is a cause for concern among many Democratic voters. Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who previously served as Donald Trump’s press secretary, delivered the Republican response to Mr Biden’s speech.
In a blistering attack, she claimed Mr Biden was “unfit to serve as commander-in-chief” – and claimed his administration was more interested in “woke fantasies than the hard realities Americans face every single day”. She said the Republicans were for freedom, while the Democrats favored government control. “Biden and the Democrats have failed you. They know it, you know it, and it’s time for a change,” Ms Huckabee Sanders said. She warned that the right and left no longer divides the US – and now, “the choice is between normal or crazy”.
“President Biden inherited the fastest economic recovery on record; the most secure border in history; cheap, abundant homegrown energy; fast rising wages; a rebuilt military, and a world that was stable and at peace. But over the last two years, Democrats destroyed it all,” Ms Huckabee Sanders claimed.
Criticising Mr Biden’s record, she added: “Beyond our border from Afghanistan to Ukraine, from North Korea to Iran, President Biden’s weakness puts our nation and the world at risk. And the president’s refusal to stand up to China, our most formidable adversary, is dangerous and unacceptable.”
