Republican and Democratic lawmakers predictably left President Biden’s State of the Union address Thursday night with very different impressions.
Republicans in both houses of Congress called the 81-year-old president an “old man” and slammed the speech as a campaign speech ahead of the November election.
Democrats, meanwhile, praised Biden’s energy and “powerful” speech.
“This wasn’t supposed to be a progressive stump speech. It was supposed to be a State of the Union address. Did I really understand that?” Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.) told FOX News Digital. I don’t know,” he said.
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U.S. President Joe Biden delivers the annual State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress in the House chamber of the Capitol Building on March 7, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Shaun Shue Pool/Getty Images)
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) called Biden’s speech “the most political” State of the Union address he’s ever heard. “It wasn’t a dignified State of the Union address. It was a partisan stump speech,” Bacon said.
“It sounded more like a campaign speech than a State of the Union address,” Republican Research Committee Chairman Kevin Hahn (R-Okla.) told Fox News Digital.
“He talked a lot about his predecessor, who was also his adversary, and convinced the American people that he was responsible for what had happened in the past three and a half years with 20% inflation since he became president. He used this platform to run for president, instead of saying, “You know, when he became president, he took on trillions of dollars in debt, the government got bigger, more spending, less regulation.” It’s increased,” Hahn said.
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Representative Don Bacon (R-Nebraska) criticized Biden’s speech as a campaign speech.
Rep. Ben Klain (R-Va.) told Fox News Digital that Biden seemed “very shrill and very angry.”
“And his solutions are very tired. I mean, he’s been here for 50 years. His solutions are the same tax and spending policies that got us into this inflationary spiral.” he stated.
“It was a campaign rally. It wasn’t a serious speech,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana).
Biden allies like Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) took a very different view.
“I’ve been here 12 years, and this was probably the best State of the Union I’ve ever heard,” Schatz told FOX News Digital.
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President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Thursday, March 7, 2024, at the Capitol in Washington. Vice President Kamala Harris is standing on the left, and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) is sitting on the right. ((Shaun Hsu/Pool via AP))
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Rep. Don Beyer (D-Virginia) suggested that Mr. Biden was able to draw a sharp contrast between himself and Republicans while allaying concerns about his age.
“I thought it was great. He had a lot of energy,” Beyer told FOX News Digital. “It’s not a question of his age, it’s a question of the quality of his ideas, and he articulated two different Americas: our America, one based on dignity, humanity, and decency; and The opposite view is revenge, hatred and retaliation.”
