WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last night, President Joe Biden delivered the final State of the Union Address of his first term. He made his case to the American electorate as to why it shouldn’t be his last address.
“Now it’s we who face an unprecedented moment in the history of the Union,” said President Biden as he discussed the need for the U.S. to help allies like Ukraine in their fight against Russia.
Aside from foreign aid, Biden hit on other key issues like the economy, reproductive rights and even encouraged Congress to pass Senator Bob Casey’s (D- PA) Shrinkflation Prevention Act.
“It’s called Shrinkflation. Pass Bobby Casey’s bill and stop this. I really mean it,” said Biden.
The 81-year-old President delivered the address Thursday evening to a deeply divided Congress. As expected, the reaction was partisan.
“Joe Biden delivered an incredible speech that was very well received by the American people beginning, middle and end,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D- NY).
Both Michigan Senators Debbie Stabenow (D- MI) and Gary Peters (D- MI) also applauded Biden’s address.
“He called for lawmakers to come together and deliver for the American people – from standing with unions as they fight for the future of the middle class, to securing our borders, to protecting reproductive rights, to combatting climate change, and supporting our allies across the world as they strive for peace and security,” said Sen. Peters in a statement following the address. “The President’s message tonight was clear. We must put politics aside, come together, and find solutions to the challenges our constituents are facing. I’ll keep fighting for Michigan every step of the way.”
“Under the leadership of President Biden and Vice President Harris, we’ve made major progress in growing our middle class over the past three years. We’ve created nearly 15 million new jobs, including 351,000 in Michigan! Wages are up. The stock market is up. And new small businesses are up. Prescription drug costs are going down,” said Sen. Stabenow. “The wealthy and corporations are paying more of their fair share. And we’re finally investing in America again, with 46,000 projects focused on rebuilding our country with good-paying jobs. The state of our union is growing stronger by the day.”
Republicans were not shy with their criticism of the address.
“I was disappointed. I thought he could have done much better. But unfortunately, I was not surprised,” said UP Rep. Jack Bergman (R- MI). It’s probably going to be his final State of the Union Address because it really did sound like a bad, really poorly prepared campaign speech. We need to be inspired by the leadership in our country… the takeaway will be, not inspiring.”
Bergman said the speech fell short and that it failed to prioritize perhaps the most pressing issue facing the country.
“It was 40-plus minutes into the speech before he even mentioned anything about the border,” said Bergman. “We can do so much better and I look forward to a different delivery of the speech in 2025 by a different person.”
