How Biden's State of the Union changed minds

Voters who were hesitant about the president told me he got their full backing. It's a good sign. (Audio embedded)

On Friday, I took calls for three hours from listeners across the country on my SiriusXM program in response to President Biden’s forceful State of the Union address, as we played clips from the speech.

My show, of course, is not a poll. Nor is it a focus group, the members of which are chosen because they represent a particular demographic or a cross-section.

But the show, even though I’m an unabashedly progressive host—or perhaps because of it—does have a diverse listenership, and that includes those who are politically diverse. I’m not sure why hard-core MAGA folks, for example, listen to the show—or how many, actually—but listeners can attest to their calling in to do battle with me a few times a week. And we do have listeners from across the rest of the political spectrum who call in.

So, two calls stuck out to me on Friday that told us a lot about the impact of the president’s speech.

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One was from a former Trump supporter, Dave in New Jersey, who was again leaning toward Donald Trump—until he watched Biden’s speech. (You can listen to to the call here.)

“I think President Biden won the election with his speech last night,” he said, explaining that he’d been leaning toward Trump again. “That’s coming from someone who was leaning toward the other guy, based on the perceptions that have been painted about Biden’s supposed age and frailty…I think the way he came across and the points he talked about just proved to us that he’s the right person at the right time for what our country needs right now.”

The other call was from Brian in Ohio, who I would describe as a disaffected Democrat, someone who might sit out the election or vote third party—if he didn’t force himself to cast a vote for Biden even if he wasn’t excited about the president.

Brian explained that he doesn’t usually watch the State of the Union. (You can listen to the call here.)

“I turned it on last night with my wife, to be honest, just to see if he could walk in a straight line and put a number of coherent sentences together,” he said.

“I thought I needed coherence, but what I really needed was fight—and my wife and I were jumping up and down, giving high-fives because we saw what we need," he explained. “That he’s ready to fight…So, I’m ready, and I want to see more of this.”

Again, not a focus group or poll, but for every Dave in New Jersey and every Brian in Ohio, there’s every reason to believe there are many more like them across the country. And in a tight election every little bit counts. So it’s a good sign.

There’s more to what the callers said. Listen in, and let me know your thoughts!