The State of the Union Is in Flux. How Will Biden Address It Tonight?
President Joe Biden will deliver the annual State of the Union address tonight from the Capitol.
It will be Biden’s first major national address under a divided Congress, with newly empowered House Republicans working to paint the president and his family as weak, corrupt, and anti-American ahead of a potential 2024 showdown with Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, or whomever else the party may nominate to retake the White House.
Biden is expected to tout his accomplishments over the past two years and lay out how his administration’s agenda benefits everyday Americans. The Washington Post reported on Friday that the president will also call for more regulation of Silicon Valley, hoping to find common ground with Republicans who have long had it out for Big Tech. The war in Ukraine, police violence, and America’s international standing are also likely to factor into a speech that is expected to focus on unity.
Here’s everything else you need to know about the State of the Union:
What Time Does the State of the Union Start?
The State of the Union will begin Tuesday, February 7, at 9 p.m. ET.
How Can I Watch the State of the Union?
The State of the Union will be broadcast on all major networks and cable news stations. Don’t have cable? You can grab this free trial to DIRECTV Stream to livestream the State of the Union online free on CNN, MSNBC and your local networks.
The address can be streamed live on the White House’s YouTube page.
Who Is Attending the State of the Union?
The Biden administration has invited 26 guests who will sit in First Lady Jill Biden’s viewing box. The guests include Oksana Markarova, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States; the parents of Tyre Nichols, a Black man who was killed by police officers in Memphis last month; and Paul Pelosi, the husband of Nancy Pelosi who was brutally beaten by an intruder looking for the former House Speaker late last year.
Bono will also be there.
“Each of these individuals were invited by the White House because they personify issues or themes to be addressed by the President in his speech, or they embody the Biden-Harris Administration’s policies at work for the American people,” the administration said in an announcement Tuesday.
Who Is Delivering the Republican Response?
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump’s former White House press secretary who last month was sworn is as the governor of Arkansas, will deliver the official GOP response to Biden’s address. If her first month in office is any indication, Sanders’ address will lean heavily on cultural grievances.
Are Progressive Democrats Going to Deliver a Rebuttal?
Yes. Delia Ramirez, a first-term representative from Illinois, will deliver a response on behalf of the Working Families Party. “I can’t be a rubber stamp person that says, ‘We’re doing an amazing job!’ And then watch people starve,” Ramirez tells Rolling Stone. “That’s why I think it’s symbolic and critical that the American people hear someone that has lived their experiences every day, knows what it’s like to be the wife of a DREAMer, to have a mother that’s a home care worker on Medicaid, and a father that depends on his Social Security.”
Is Donald Trump Going to Respond?
Yes, indeed. On Monday, Jonathan Swan of The New York Times reported that Trump’s 2024 campaign is planning a “rapid response operation” to Biden’s address and that the former president will release a video response immediately after it’s over.
Regardless of what Biden says during his address, Trump will likely hammer him for not overriding the Pentagon and immediately shooting down the alleged Chinese spy balloon that crossed the United States earlier this week. He’ll also probably claim that the war in Ukraine would have never happened if he were still in office, which he’s been doing a lot lately.
Do I Really Have to Watch Any of This?
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