State of the Union - live: Biden addresses US amid poor approval rating as Huckabee Sanders gives GOP response
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President Joe Biden will deliver his annual State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday. The president is expected to highlight the policy and legislative successes of his administration’s first two years, and to make an implicit campaign pitch as Mr Biden weighs whether to launch another run for the White House in 2024.
Despite Mr Biden’s success during the 2022 midterm elections – where Democrats actually picked up a seat in the Senate and staved off a red wave in the House of Representatives – polls continue to show the nation is ready less than excited about the prospect of another term for the incumbent.
The president will also likely tout the recent positive economic news following stronger-than-expected job growth in January, as well as moderating inflation. National Economic Director Brian Deese told reporters that Mr Biden will highlight his economic policies as an “area of contrast” with the GOP.
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What time is Joe Biden’s State of the Union address and where can I watch?
Biden aims to sway skeptical nation as polls show him under water
Joe Biden may defend administration’s racial justice record at SOTU
00:17 , Josh Marcus
As Joe Biden reflects on another year in office, racial justice will be a topic that’s surely on his mind, following the uproar over the police killing of Tyre Nichols.
As The Independent has reported, observers say Mr Biden has a mixed record at best on key questions like civil rights and police reform.
Why Joe Biden has been a ‘consistently inconsistent’ ally for civil rights so far
All the details you need to know about tomorrow’s State of the Union address
Monday 6 February 2023 23:17 , Josh Marcus
President Joe Biden’s second State of the Union (SOTU) address will take place before a joint session of Congress on the evening of Tuesday 7 February, presenting him with a fresh opportunity to lay out the key issues facing the nation and frame the 2024 presidential race in his own terms.
Mr Biden’s latest SOTU speech will be his first since the Republicans took control of the House of Representatives after November’s midterms and it remains to be seen how receptive GOP members will be to what he has to say, with the prospect of performative boredom, hostility and booing distinctly likely.
An experienced speechmaker, the president is unlikely to be intimidated either way.
He will be flanked, as is customary, by the new House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, and his vice president, Kamala Harris, as he delivers his address to the assembled members of the House and Senate, with family, friends and specially invited guests looking down from the balcony of the lower chamber.
Joe Sommerland has the story.
How to watch Joe Biden’s State of the Union address
Biden aims to sway a sceptical nation at State of the Union as polls show him under water
Monday 6 February 2023 22:17 , Andrew Feinberg
When President Joe Biden delivers his second State of the Union address to a packed House of Representatives chamber on Tuesday, it will be his last chance to sell his message — and his imminent candidacy for reelection — to an American public that has proven stubbornly immune to his charm offensives.
Although Mr Biden’s Democratic allies fared far better in last year’s midterm elections than expected of an incumbent president’s party by picking up a Senate seat and losing their House majority by just a handful of seats, the 46th president remains under water in most major opinion polls.
An ABC News / Washington Post poll of 1,003 adults taken at the end of last month showed just 42 per cent of respondents approve of his performance, with a majority of Americans — 53 per cent — saying they either “strongly” or “somewhat” disapprove of how Mr Biden has conducted himself in office.
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Biden aims to sway a sceptical nation as polls show him under water
