It is an old trick of political rhetoric, demonizing the opponent, the repository of all evil, without ever naming him. Joe Biden he uses it, in the speech on the state of the Union which he delivers before the Congress gathered in plenary session, with unexpected lucidity and now rare effectiveness. Behind him, the vice-president Kamala Harrisnext to the speaker of the Chamber, Mike Johnsontakes on the role of ‘first cheerleader’: he stands up to dictate the applause of the Democrats, which is repeated.
Republicans, some of whom defy the rituality of the occasion by wearing Maga hats, mostly contest and they make noise. The real counterpoint to the president is attempted by their boss on social media, but Donald Trump’s live ‘minute by minute’ fact checking was born badly: the system goes haywire and the effect is lost.
Biden has an ace up his sleeve and is playing it, but it has more impact abroad than in the Union: he announces the construction of a temporary portoff the coast of the Gaza Strip, to increase humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population.
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The offshore dock will be built by the US military and will allow “to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian civilians”, many of whom are literally dying of starvation. The USA, which has been parachuting aid onto the Strip since the weekend, comes next the bread massacre of February 29th – over one hundred victims -, will intensify all supplies of food and medicines. It is estimated that the emergency mission will enable the delivery of the equivalent of hundreds of additional truckloads of humanitarian aid. The idea of an offshore berth created by US soldiers finds positive echoes in Israel.
Biden’s initiative, however, has origins and implications from and on internal politics. The president has just won the caucuses, that is, the assemblies, in Hawaii, to choose the delegates to the August convention, but the participation was very low and almost a third of the voters, over 29% – never so many – gave him preferred the option “uncommitted”, a way to express dissent regarding the pro-Israeli position of the United States in the war on Gaza. With the bridge, Biden perhaps recovers consensus; and confirms the choice of the two states, Israel and Palestine, and the firmness in the Red Sea, against the pinpricks of the Houthis.
USA 2024: State of the Union speech, the age of ideas
The State of the Union speech, in ‘prime time’ on many TV channels, is an annual ritual of US politics. Biden speaks for over an hour, defends his actions on all fronts, promotes his candidacy, criticizes, without mentioning ithis predecessor and likely future rival Donald Trump.
And, referring to age, his Achilles heel campagna – he is 81 years old -, Biden says: “The problem is not our age, but that of our ideas“: “Life has taught me to choose freedom and democracy, a future based on the fundamental values that have defined America, honesty, fairness, dignity, equality, to respect everyone, to give everyone a fair chance, to not give a safe haven for hatred. Others – a reference to Trump, ndr – they are the same age, but they see an American history of resentment, revenge and punishment. That’s not me.”
Biden also underlines that those who oppose abortion “have no idea of the power of women”: another election campaign issue on which he and Trump are divided – Democratic congresswomen wear white, the campaign color for reproductive freedoms -. And he tries to highlight the positive results of his presidency, especially on the economic front, for which, according to polls, public opinion gives him little credit. Of Ukraine, invaded by Russia, he assures that “we will not abandon it”, but insists that it cannot defend itself without American and Western aid; and denounces those who are fascinated by Russian President Vladimir Putin – that is, Trump, ndr -. As for China, it does not seek conflict, but accepts competition.
The mainstream US press, but basically liberaldal New York Times to CNN via the Washington Post and for the major generalist television networks, judge “vibrant” the president’s speech: better than expected, or feared.
The 2024 State of the Union is affected by the electoral climate and outlines a strong and clear contrast between Biden and Trump, from the relationship with Russia to public health, passing through the insurrection of January 6, 2021 against the democratic institutions of the United States: in filigree , there is always the underlying theme of Biden campaignTrump’s return to the presidency would jeopardize American democracy.
While the president speaks, Truth, the social network where Trump comments his speech live, minute by minute ‘question and response’ style, suffers intermittent interruptions, perhaps due to an excess of contacts. The app – reports those who try to connect – displays an error message and the desktop version does not give continuous access to posts. The tycoon blames Biden for the explosion in the Middle East and accuses him of wanting to bring “5,000 thousand migrants a day” into the Union.
USA 2024: speech on the State of the Union, guests and absentees and other curiosities
The Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristerssonwhose country has just become the 32nd member of NATO, the head of the powerful auto union Shawn Fain, and Kate Cox, the Texan woman who was denied an emergency abortion due to a high-risk pregnancy, are some of the guests – about twenty – of Joe and Jill Biden, in the gallery of honor in the Chamber of Deputies.
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The guests are ‘testimonials’ of the priorities and results of the Biden presidency: reproductive, civil and workers’ rights; the contribution to the repayment of student debt for the University; the fight against fentanyl and easy weapons; the defense of welfare and healthcare; interventions on infrastructure and supply chains, in particular energy; the fight against climate change.
On the international crisis front, two flat rates stand out: Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the Russian opponent Alexiei who died in a Siberian prison, and Olena Zelenska, the wife of the Ukrainian president. Olena did not accept being close to Yulia, even with Jill in the middle, because Navalny judged her Crimea Russian. In the end, neither of them came.
Among the guests of House Speaker Johnson are the parents of Evan Gershkovich, Wall Street Journal journalist currently detained in Russia. The Republicans entrust the response to Biden’s speech to Katie Britt, 42 years old, from Alabama, the youngest Republican senator ever elected. Katie denounces “a weakened leadership” (and a little parchment, for the television effect).