President Biden delivers the address to a joint session of congress on the 7th of February, 2023 State of the Union.

Dating back to FDR, The State of the Union is a time-honored tradition of American politics that is given to a joint session of congress in January or February. The speech provides a synopsis of the country and what the current administration is doing to address the most urgent national and international issues.  Presidents also use it to outline goals and future legislation they hope to pass.

This year was The speech was delivered on the 7th of February, 2023, and there’s plenty to unpack and analyze.

What Biden said, crowd and hope for the future.

Most notably, president Biden stood firm and made his case to the American people, hinting heavily at his 2024 re-election run. He discussed “finishing the job” and touted his administration’s achievements. , His speech delivery and performance at the podium did good job-fighting arguments about his age Biden is the oldest President to date, and if he won another mandate in 2024) Contrary to critics, his performance demonstrates that he has plenty of fight left and could be up for a traditional presidential campaign in 2024.

Age is the largest detractor to a second Biden run, and the way he handled the heckling Republicans showcased his energy for another campaign. Biden sharply replied and retorted to those attempting to shake or catch him off guard.

Biden reaffirmed his dedication and support for keeping drug prices low and for Medicare and Social Security (which are up to be cut as programs or renewed). It will define the domestic agenda for the foreseeable future, but the recent trouble with defaulting on debt and SVB may also become a top priority issue. He also laid out plans to tax big oil and big tech on a much larger scale and keep them accountable for taxes. This knocks out two birds with one stone. Not only does Biden address the taxation issue with big cooperation riggling out of paying their fair share. He also smartly addresses ways to help America’s debt and provide more money for the federal government. This is now more timely than ever, with Kevin McCarthy and his supporters refusing to raise the debt limit.

Biden also highlighted a key theme of his presidency; Democracy. He again stated that the United States is at an “inflection point.” on defending our democratic values at home, fighting the 2020 election lies, and many of the republicans (Majore Taylor Green and Josh Hawley) who still protest that the election was stolen.

Returning to 2024, Biden may make the case that he needs to run again not only to finish his efficient and legislatively excellent administration but also to defend the democratic institutions against another Trump administration or Trump adjacent government – and the damage done to the country, the world, and the national institutions. He reaffirmed his support of Ukraine and what it stands for, and why we, as Americans, need to continue the work. Ending this section of the speech, he preached that we should be optimistic, not just because Ukraine is making huge gains but because the electorate kept Trump out of office and pushed back against the Republican wave during the midterms.

The biggest takeaway from the State of the Union is that we must be optimistic about facing our challenges. Shadowy demagogues seek to challenge and topple our democratic systems and free-fighting allies overseas.