How Did Joe Biden Do Tonight? State of the Union Reviewed

Joe Biden’s State of the Union (SOTU) speech garnered positive reviews from a series of experts, and a good reaction from the American public, according to a poll.

The president spoke for around 68 minutes on Thursday in his annual speech before Congress. The Democrat covered a range of themes including the economy and foreign policy as he sought to make his reelection case to the American people. Newsweek contacted a representative from Biden’s campaign by email to comment on this story.

After Biden’s speech, a CNN poll found that 62 percent of people who watched it said the policies proposed by the president would move the country in the right direction. The poll of 529 people was conducted by researchers SSRS. The margin of error is +/-5.6 at the 95 percent confidence level.

President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address during a joint meeting of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol on March 7, 2024 in Washington, DC. Speaking to Newsweek, experts…

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Meanwhile, experts said Biden had performed well and put up a strong fight. “So the gloves are off,” Mark Shanahan, an associate professor in politics at the University of Surrey in the U.K., told Newsweek. “Joe Biden gave a vigorous, combative performance last night, taking the attack directly to Donald Trump without ever mentioning his name.”

He added: “Biden has a decent presidential record in difficult times, and laid out his achievements adroitly. He also did not shy away from his age, but spun a good line in describing Trump’s ‘ancient ideas.’

“While not a classic, and spinning somewhat on the head of a pin around aid for Gaza while continuing to support Israel, Biden will have reassured Democrats somewhat that he has the vim to fight this campaign, while demonstrating to Republicans that their man is far from home and hosed in this race.”

Heath Brown, an associate professor of public policy at City University of New York, called Biden a “bulldog” and agreed his speech was combative.

He told Newsweek: “Hell of a speech. President Biden literally said ‘hell’ more often than I could count. He was a bulldog in this SOTU. He was combative, funny, and aggressive. It also was the most pro-union speech I’ve ever heard from a U.S. president.”

“This clearly was the official launch of his reelection campaign, and a good one at that,” Brown added.

Christopher Phelps, a professor of modern American history at the University of Nottingham in the U.K., told Newsweek: “This State of the Union address was a rousing, punchy, highly effective address that will reset Biden’s presidential campaign.”

He went on: “Even many Democrats had sunk deep into gloomy anxiety that Biden was past his prime, and recent polls found Americans think him too old for the job. But he delivered this speech with such vigor, energy, and good humor that it will reassure his base and give others reason to reconsider the view of him that had been forming in their minds.

“From Biden’s opening call for aid to Ukraine, the speech was framed against his ‘predecessor’; and on immigration, tax policy, and numerous other issues, he drew an effective contrast with the Republicans, both about ideals and policy, making the State of the Union speech a significant salvo in the presidential campaign that took shrewd advantage of the moment to pressure Republicans in Congress for their blockage of legislation Biden has sought.”

“In short, Biden had his game on. This was an unequivocal success that will put to rest any talk of another candidate stepping in to replace Biden and will likely mark a turning point in the polls, which have already seen the Trump lead shrink to a statistical tie,” Phelps added.

Christopher Phelps told Newsweek: “This State of the Union address was a rousing, punchy, highly effective address that will reset Biden’s presidential campaign.”

Newsweek

However, Biden also made errors during the speech, which may fuel criticism from his opponents. He appeared to mispronounced the name of Laken Riley, who was found killed in a wooded area near the University of Georgia last month. Police charged Jose Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old migrant from Venezuela, with the killing, and Republicans blamed Biden’s immigration policies for the death.

Biden seemed to refer to Laken as “Lincoln” during the speech. “Lincoln Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal. That’s right. But how many thousands of people being killed by illegals? To her parents, I say, my heart goes out to you, having lost children myself. I understand,” the president said.

Trump, front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, lashed out at Biden following the speech, calling it an “embarrassment to our country.”

This was Biden’s last SOTU address before voters go to the polls in the November presidential election.