Towards an End of Abortion: The Biden State of the Union Address during the 2016 Black Hole Battle for the United States
Biden said he would restore the abortion rights of the law of the land if Democrats were elected to Congress.
Biden said people have no idea about the power of women.
Trump, Biden’s presumptive Republican rival in November, has indeed bragged about his role in choosing three conservative Supreme Court justices who were instrumental in that decision — a campaign promise Trump had made in 2016.
Exit polling has shown abortion to be a top issue for many voters in those recent elections, particularly those from key voting blocs for Democrats, such as women, younger voters and voters of color.
Several guests invited to attend the speech also helped to highlight the erosion of abortion rights in recent years. Among them are Kate Cox, who sued the state of Texas after she was denied an emergency abortion under state law, and Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an Indiana OB-GYN who found herself in the national spotlight in 2022 after providing a medication abortion for a 10-year-old rape victim who’d had to travel there after an abortion ban took effect in her home state of Ohio.
A patient from the state of Alabama, who had her fertility treatment canceled after the Alabama Supreme Court made a decision that forced Republicans across the country to change their messaging, was also in attendance.
President Biden wasted no time in his State of the Union address taking a sharp contrast to his likely rival for the presidency, Donald Trump.
Instead of a policy heavy laundry list speech, the president leaned into politics, and at times, shouted and amped up Democrats with some fiery rhetoric.
He criticized those who didn’t heed the threat from Putin, and those that invaded the Capitol, without mentioning Trump’s name.
The president referred to policies from his predecessor more than a dozen times in his speech and it was clear that it was his campaign plan for the November election.
The president has a bar to clear to convince some in his own party that he is up to the task of being commander in chief for four more years.
The president was energetic and seemed to fire up the Democrats in the chamber when he shouted “For four more years!”
With six justices of the U.S. Supreme Court sitting in the front rows, the president criticized the majority conservative court for overturning the landmark abortion case Roe v. Wade in 2022. As he warned that “history is watching” how the U.S. handles alliances abroad, and supports Ukraine, he warned about “another assault on freedom.”
Biden warned the GOP underestimated the power of women to mobilize, referencing past wins when reproductive freedom was on the ballot and predicting a win again in 2024.
When Republicans have the chance to flip control of the House after the 2024 elections, restoring the law of the land will not likely be achieved by Democrats.
The political symbolism of the power of women for Biden’s campaign was also visibly on display in the chamber. Democratic lawmakers wore white and had buttons with the slogan “fighting for reproductive woman” on them.
Congressional Democrats, especially those in swing seats, needed Biden to alleviate voters’ concerns about his ability to do the job in this kick off campaign speech. They wanted him to highlight the economy.
The U.S.-Mexico Border Crisis: A Tale of Five Takeaways from President Biden’s State of the Union Address
He argued that the state of the country was worse when Trump took office due to the Pandemic, an isolation and loneliness, and millions of deaths.
Biden again, didn’t mention Trump by name, but blamed him for derailing it, “I’m told my predecessor called Republicans in Congress and demanded they block the bill. He feels it would be a political win for me and a political loser for him.”
Biden claimed credit for reducing the cost of prescription drugs, and for capping the cost of insulin for seniors on Medicare. He vowed in a second term to extend that cap for all who need insulin.
He looked into the cameras to those watching at home and asked the political question designed to relate to most Americans, “For folks at home, does anybody really think the tax code is fair?”
Going into the State of the Union the president and his advisers knew he needed to detail how he would address the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border, and acknowledge the impact it is having, not just in red border states, but in blue cities across the country, where migrants are being bussed and straining public resources.
Some Republicans wore buttons with Riley’s name on them when President Biden called for Congress to pass a bipartisan border security bill. The legislation passed the Senate with a majority vote and was not taken up by the House, in part because the Speaker said it was dead on arrival.
During his recent trip to the southwest border, Biden challenged Trump to join him to pass the bill. He mentioned he was looking at executive authority for policies to reduce the number of migrants — something that has split Democrats on Capitol Hill — but he also said he needed Congress to change the law to fund more enforcement personnel.
The blame game between the two warring parties over the border situation is expected to be the main theme through the fall. Although Democrats are split on the president’s embrace of some conservative policies, like altering who can be eligible to claim asylum, the strategy of trying to flip the script and put Republicans on defense for blocking a bipartisan plan is one candidates in competitive races are expected to replicate.
Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza: President Biden’s visit to Israel and the prospects for a possible solution in the future
President Biden made Israel’s now five-month-long war against Hamas in Gaza a significant part of his speech, and acknowledged families of those still being held hostage by Hamas in the chamber’s visitors galleries.
Many progressives and younger voters are angry with the president’s handling of the war since they think he isn’t tough enough on the Israelis. The backlash from his approach costs him politically, and Democrats are worried that it could prompt voters to stay home in the fall.
More than 100,000 voters in Michigan registered to vote for the “uncommitted” option on the ballot last week, instead of voting for Biden, due to his handling of Israel’s war in Gaza. A number of Super Tuesday states had similar efforts.
In Thursday’s address, the president announced the U.S. military will build a temporary, emergency pier to facilitate the delivery of aid to civilians desperate for food and medicine. “No U.S. boots will be seen on the ground,” he said.
The president stressed that his administration is working on a cease-fire so that hostages can be released and more humanitarian assistance can be delivered. He stressed his personal record over decades as a strong supporter of Israel, and his visit during the early part of the war. He also said that a two-state solution is the only real solution in the future.
There is increasing push for a cease-fire to happen, and Vice President Biden, who recently predicted a temporary pause would be coming in a matter of days, faces calls from progressives in Congress to cut off military aid to Israel.
Biden may have worked with his own party to get the word out about the need to support Ukraine. As the death toll of civilians mounts in Gaza, his approach to Israel has been a frequent flashpoint already in campaign stops, and shows no sign of fading.