President Biden’s State of the Union address on Tuesday was measured in tone, bullish on the economy and managed to balance both humility and defiance in the parts of his speech that were aimed directly at Beijing and Moscow .
Biden signaled he will likely run for president in 2024 to, as he put it, “finish the job.” But that will likely do little to quell speculation about presidential bids from senators like Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who still hasn’t ruled out a 2024 run.
And amid the shouting and silence in the House of Representatives, the address highlighted a number of issues of global concern that are heating up in the middle of Biden’s first term.
Biden calls for China
“Over the past two years, democracies have grown stronger, not weaker,” Biden said during the address. “Autocracy has become weaker, not stronger. Name me a world leader who would trade places with Xi Jinping. Name me one.”
Biden’s appeal against Xi Jinping, leader of the Chinese Communist Party, has challenged nation-state leaders who have so far sat on the fence in the US-China election – particularly on finance and global trade.
President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress in the US Capitol Tuesday, February 7, 2023, in Washington, while Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California listen. Jacquelyn Martin/Pool via REUTERS
Biden also alluded to the US decision to shoot down a Chinese surveillance balloon that had flown over America. For the business community, it was a clear signal from the Biden administration that the US administration remains aligned in addressing the global China challenge.
“Make no mistake: as we made clear last week, if China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country. And we did that,” Biden said. “Look, let’s be clear: winning the competition should unite us all. We face serious challenges worldwide.”
Biden’s comments on China come as Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has set up a bipartisan House Select Committee to deal with the issue. As much as America’s decades-long era of a two-party system has led to hyperpolarization, it’s worth noting that even perhaps the most hyperpartisan of Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) yelled about China in the chamber at one point.
The story goes on
While not even McCarthy would endorse her lack of manners, there is unity on the issue of China, even among Washington’s political fringes.
Debt ceiling showdown
Biden delved into the debt ceiling and showed unwillingness to negotiate with Republicans over government spending cuts and entitlements.
“Rather than getting the rich to pay their fair share, some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to go under,” Biden said, drawing loud boos from Republicans.
“If anyone tries to cut Social Security, which nobody seems to be doing, and if someone tries to cut Medicare, I will stop them,” Biden continued. “I will veto it. And look, I won’t let them take them away. Not today. Not tomorrow. Never. But apparently it won’t be a problem.”
U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) yells at U.S. President Joe Biden as he delivers his State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, United States, on February 7, 2023. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Biden’s positioning came just about a week after he met McCarthy at the White House to discuss the debt ceiling. One of Washington’s biggest unknowns for business remains how the country’s borrowing limit negotiations will affect markets.
Biden noted that Republicans voted to raise the debt ceiling three times during the Trump administration.
The president also attempted to portray a strong US economy, even as Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell told David Rubenstein just hours earlier that the process of bringing US inflation down is “likely to be bumpy.”
Biden promotes American manufacturing
“Guys, I know I’ve been criticized for saying this, but I’m not changing my mind,” Biden said of global supply chains. “We will ensure that the supply chain for America starts in America. The supply chain starts in America.”
Biden’s comments come as some Europeans have openly ranted that the Inflation Reduction Act hurts Europe more than it helps America.
That didn’t stop the industrialist Biden, however, from highlighting areas of bipartisan success for his government — most notably the CHIPS Act, which aims to dramatically increase US chip production to make the US less dependent on China.
“With this new law, we will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs nationwide,” Biden said. “And I mean across the country. Not only on the coast, but also in the middle of the country.”
The President’s speech also contained progressive talking points that were advanced in a centrist manner.
“I’m a capitalist,” he said before urging billionaires to pay more taxes. He also shamed Big Oil CEOs for record profits during a global energy crisis.
But then Biden, the senator from refinery-heavy Delaware, emerged and said, “We’re going to need oil for at least another decade.”
Even Speaker McCarthy grinned.
Kevin Cirilli is a Visiting Media Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub and the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy in Purdue. Follow him here on LinkedIn.
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