President Joe Biden is scheduled to deliver his second State of the Union address Tuesday night, in which he is expected to outline his strategy to “reaffirm America’s leadership around the world.” A White House official told Fox News that radioactive fallout from a Chinese surveillance balloon passed over the US mainland for nearly a week.
Since his speech last year, his administration has faced a surge in immigration at the southern border, gasoline prices have hit a record high, inflation has reached a 40-year high, and continued supply chain problems There is a nationwide shortage of powdered milk. , and the Russian aggression against Ukraine is escalating with no end in sight.
The president’s 2023 speech also comes as he is under a special counsel investigation into the improper retention of classified records from his time as vice president under Obama, prompting the FBI to raid his home. It’s just a few weeks after I asked for additional documents marked with classification.
Perhaps most notably, the president’s State of the Union address came just days after Air Force F-22 fighter jets shot down a Chinese reconnaissance balloon off the coast of South Carolina.
US Intel assesses Chinese spy balloon passed over US several times, ‘undetected’: senior management official
A senior Pentagon official said the reconnaissance balloon was launched from China on January 21 and crossed to Alaska on January 28. She entered the mainland United States through northern Idaho on January 31 and was spotted in several states. military base before it was finally shot down on Saturday.
The president’s speech came days after an Air Force F-22 jet shot down a Chinese reconnaissance balloon. (Win McNamee / Getty Images / Files)
A senior government official also told Fox News that another Chinese spy balloon crashed near Hawaii just four months ago.
A senior White House official said in a 9 p.m. to outline the plan.
But when asked whether the president would focus specifically on the threat China poses to U.S. national security and Chinese spy balloons, the official said Biden’s remarks were “of course” “what’s happening in the world”. And we will always take into consideration how we respond.” It’s the moment we’re in. ”
Chinese spy balloon crashed on Hawaii coast four months ago, US official says
A Chinese spy platform hovering over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina. On February 4, fighter planes and contrails were visible below. (Chad Fish, via AP)
“But we will hear the president speak about his continued and successful efforts to reaffirm America’s leadership around the world,” the official said.
White House Press Secretary Carine Jean-Pierre said on Monday that the Biden administration’s approach to China “will remain cool but determined and down-to-earth.” (Fox News Digital/File’s Image Direct)
A White House official said in his speech that Biden had achieved under his administration during “one of the most difficult times in history” and “the progress that the American people want for America by working together.” He said the plan was to highlight “significant progress” in next year. ”
China poses ‘greatest long-term threat to economy and national security,’ warns FBI director Wray
Access road to President Joe Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware. (AP Photo/Carolyn Custer/Files)
Biden will outline “how he has executed on his vision of an economy that grows from the bottom up and the middle out rather than the top down,” the official said, adding, “through historic job growth. We will focus on the progress achieved,” he added. “Lower inflation, higher wages, record investment coming back to America,” he said.
“hello We will highlight the progress we have already made on these and other commitments and priorities and will continue to fight for it.
But inflation has been a major concern of Americans since Biden’s final State of the Union address.His June, months after his speech, inflation 9.1% YoY increasethe fastest rise since 1981.
Inflation has been a major concern for Americans since Biden last delivered his State of the Union address. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Files via Getty Images)
Rising consumer prices are affecting nearly every aspect of American life, from energy and food to shelter, apparel, and household items.Inflation has fallen below 7%, but is still well above the government’s target, and the Fed Continue tightening interest ratescould adversely affect the overall U.S. economy.
energy prices like Utility bills and gasoline bills In particular, it puts more strain on American families. Pump prices soared above $5 a gallon in mid-June to the highest level on record before falling again, but now remain 46% higher than when Biden took office.
Some of the pressure on energy costs came as a result of another crisis Biden faced as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Biden has repeatedly backed Ukraine alongside other Western nations and has provided tens of billions of dollars in military aid to the war-torn country over the past 12 months.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin
The White House Director of the National Economic Council Brian Dees said Mr. Biden had presented a “very clear and detailed plan” for reducing the deficit and said, “When it comes to the economy and economic policy, the Democrats and Republicans are on hand. We will look for every opportunity to reach out and work together.” To find a practical way. ”
McCarthy says he sees ‘opportunity to reach agreement’ on debt ceiling after ‘very good’ Biden meeting
Biden met with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for the first time since picking up the gavel last week, saying the Republican Speaker saw “an opportunity to reach agreement” on the debt ceiling.
Biden’s speech came amid a worsening crisis on the US southern border.
President Joe Biden speaks with Border Patrol members as they walk along the U.S.-Mexico border fence in El Paso, Texas, Jan. 8, 2023. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
A source told Fox News that nearly 300,000 illegal immigrants are known to have slipped through overwhelmed Border Patrol agents since the start of fiscal 2023, which began in October.
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Biden’s approval rating has risen from 40.6% to 43.9% since his last State of the Union address, but will fall to a low of 36.8% in July 2022, according to an average of polling data compiled by Real Clear Politics. bottom.
Fox News’ Thomas Catenacci and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
