Biden knocks it out of the park in State of the Union

The president threw the GOP on the defensive, into chaos, and blasted Donald Trump without ever saying his name. We've never seen anything like this in the annual presidential address.

Just when you think Joe Biden can’t top himself, he dramatically exceeds expectations in ways that are awe-inspiring and riveting. And that’s what happened last night in the State of the Union address.

The pressure on the president was enormous. Batted about by the media for weeks over his age—a largely overblown issue that they harped on for months, spurred on the Trump-appointed special counsel, while push-polling Americans—Biden knew his performance was going to get intense scrutiny. His energy level, his enunciation of every word, his every pause—all of it would be watched.

On top of that, he needed to make the case about the urgency of the moment we are in while selling his domestic achievements that the media has downplayed as the economy has roared back and build on them with new ideas for another term.

Biden did all that and more. He was firm, aggressive, urgent, lucid, passionate, and deeply detailed.

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The speech began like a freight train, knocking over the GOP in the process and throwing them off completely. Rather than begin with pleasantries and a sort of “report” of the economy—the typical state of the union address—his first words took us back to 1941 and the threat of fascism that vexed FDR, then to the Civil War, noting that the threat to democracy today is both abroad and at home:

In January 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt came to this chamber to speak to the nation. 

He said, “I address you at a moment unprecedented in the history of the Union.” 

Hitler was on the march. War was raging in Europe. 

President Roosevelt’s purpose was to wake up the Congress and alert the American people that this was no ordinary moment.   

Freedom and democracy were under assault in the world. 

Tonight I come to the same chamber to address the nation. 

Now it is we who face an unprecedented moment in the history of the Union. 

And yes, my purpose tonight is to both wake up this Congress, and alert the American people that this is no ordinary moment either. 

Not since President Lincoln and the Civil War have freedom and democracy been under assault here at home as they are today. 

What makes our moment rare is that freedom and democracy are under attack, both at home and overseas, at the very same time. 

Overseas, Putin of Russia is on the march, invading Ukraine and sowing chaos throughout Europe and beyond. 

If anybody in this room thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you, he will not. 

Mike Johnson squirmed in his seat. None of the GOP members knew whether to applaud or not because they are the ones keeping us from fighting fascism, both at home and abroad.

Then he hit them with their own icon, Ronald Reagan, while going in for the kill against Donald Trump. Masterful:

But now assistance for Ukraine is being blocked by those who want us to walk away from our leadership in the world. 

It wasn’t that long ago when a Republican President, Ronald Reagan, thundered, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” 

Now, my predecessor, a former Republican President, tells Putin, “Do whatever the hell you want.” 

A former American President actually said that, bowing down to a Russian leader. 

It’s outrageous. It’s dangerous. It’s unacceptable. 

All of that threw the GOP into complete disarray. Then the president went right for the Supreme Court:

Joining us tonight is Latorya Beasley, a social worker from Birmingham, Alabama. 14 months ago tonight, she and her husband welcomed a baby girl thanks to the miracle of IVF. 

She scheduled treatments to have a second child, but the Alabama Supreme Court shut down IVF treatments across the state, unleashed by the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. 

She was told her dream would have to wait. 

And again, he laid it at Trump’s feet:

Like most Americans, I believe Roe v. Wade got it right. And I thank Vice President Harris for being an incredible leader, defending reproductive freedom and so much more. 

But my predecessor came to office determined  

to see Roe v. Wade overturned. 

He’s the reason it was overturned. In fact, he brags about it. 

Look at the chaos that has resulted. 

By that point, the Republicans were so frustrated, so blown away, so irritated, and so angry that they couldn’t even deal with the president’s barrage of economic achievements and his plans for the future. When he turned to the border deal, they couldn’t help but be baited—with Marjorie Taylor Greene, in her MAGA hat, triggered to lash out, though Mike Johnson warned her and others not to engage in outbursts.

The president did it again when he said the GOP was intent on cutting Social Security and Medicare—and they walked right into the trap just as they did last year. He showed he could interact with them, be very nimble, and take them on.

There’s so much more, and I know many of you will have thoughts. I just wanted to highlight why this was a State of the Union like no other. At the end, the president brought it back to the urgency of the moment, again slamming Trump and the GOP but first re-introducing himself. This might seem odd—one of the most-known politicians in Washington re-introducing himself—but this was a way to not allow the media to define him in this moment as old, using that negatively. And it was a moment to distinguish himself from that other older guy, Trump:

Let me close with this. 

I know I may not look like it, but I’ve been around a while. 

And when you get to my age certain things become clearer than ever before. 

I know the American story. 

Again and again I’ve seen the contest between competing forces in the battle for the soul of our nation. 

Between those who want to pull America back to the past and those who want to move America into the future. 

My lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy. 

A future based on the core values that have defined America. 

Honesty. Decency. Dignity. Equality. 

To respect everyone. To give everyone a fair shot. To give hate no safe harbor.  

Now some other people my age see a different story.  

An American story of resentment, revenge, and retribution. 

That’s not me. 

I was born amid World War II when America stood for freedom in the world. 

I grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania and Claymont, Delaware among working people who built this country. 

I watched in horror as two of my heroes, Dr. King and Bobby Kennedy, were assassinated and their legacies inspired me to pursue a career in service. 

A public defender, county councilman, elected United States Senator at 29, then Vice President, to our first Black President, now President, with our first woman Vice President. 

In my career I’ve been told I’m too young and I’m too old. 

Whether young or old, I’ve always known what endures. 

Our North Star. 

This was enormously effective. Yes, he said, there are old people with old ideas—ugly ideas, people filled with resentment, like Trump. But there are also older people with wisdom and experience who are embracing innovation while upholding our values. He went on:

My fellow Americans, the issue facing our nation isn’t how old we are; it’s how old our ideas are. 

Hate, anger, revenge, retribution are among the oldest of ideas. 

But you can’t lead America with ancient ideas that only take us back. 

To lead America, the land of possibilities, you need a vision for the future of what America can and should be. 

Tonight you’ve heard mine. 

I see a future where we defend democracy not diminish it. 

I see a future where we restore the right to choose and protect other freedoms not take them away. 

I see a future where the middle class finally has a fair shot and the wealthy finally have to pay their fair share in taxes. 

I see a future where we save the planet from the climate crisis and our country from gun violence. 

Above all, I see a future for all Americans! 

I see a country for all Americans! 

And I will always be a president for all Americans! 

Because I believe in America! 

I believe in you the American people. 

You’re the reason I’ve never been more optimistic about our future! 

So let’s build that future together! 

Let’s remember who we are! 

We are the United States of America. 

Joe Biden did everything he needed to do in this remarkable, unprecedented State of the Union—and so much more.