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In the midst of the war in Ukraine, the president of the United States, Joe Biden, delivers his first State of the Union address and does so before a Congress gathered for the first time in full since the start of the pandemic. Inflation, the debate on the mandatory nature of vaccines and a weakened approval rate accompany him at the appointment.
This Tuesday, March 1, US President Joe Biden is scheduled to deliver his first State of the Union address. In 2021, just days after taking office, he delivered a message to the nation, but that first address is not traditionally considered an official State of the Union message because the president has been in office only a short time and cannot review your management.
More than 400 days after coming to power, the Democrat must account to Americans in the midst of an international crisis, high inflation, a low popularity rating and a relentless pandemic.
Pyrrhic victory at the geopolitical level
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki reported on February 28 that President Joe Biden will give more weight to foreign policy in his speech due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The president is expected to highlight “the importance of the United States being a leader in the world,” she said.
And it is that President Joe Biden can present as one of his achievements the cohesion of Europe and the G7 countries around Ukraine. A celebration that suits him after the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, which has been listed as Biden’s worst foreign policy decision.
“The dispute with Russia has achieved some important diplomatic victories, which are not entirely his, but which put him in a very different place,” political analyst José Benegas told France 24.
I spoke today with Allies and partners to discuss Russia’s unprovoked war on Ukraine. We are continuing our support for the Ukrainian people as they defend their country and affirmed our readiness to keep imposing severe costs on Russia if they do not de-escalate. pic.twitter.com/mpQKYOvmUj
— President Biden (@POTUS) February 28, 2022
In the midst of global tension, the US president could benefit the Democratic party in the face of the mid-term elections to be held in November, in which the entire Senate and a third of the House of Representatives are renewed.
“The administration has acted appropriately and has managed to bring together the countries of the European Union and key allies to respond energetically against Putin’s aggressions and his expansionist and war agenda. It will be interesting to observe in the coming months how the electorate reacts to these events and if what appears to be a return of the Republican party to the majority in both chambers can be reversed, ”concluded international analyst Felipe Trigos for France 24.
Internal tension: the pandemic
Washington reinforced its security and the security forces deployed fences around the Capitol, not only to prevent an assault with the background of January 6, 2021 – when supporters of then President Donald Trump stormed the compound to interrupt the certification of the electoral victory of Biden in November 2020 – but in view of the arrival of the caravan of truckers who, inspired by the so-called Canadian ‘Freedom Convoy’, departed from various cities in the United States to ask for the end of compulsory vaccination and other measures to combat Covid-19.
For the public policy analyst, Adryana Aldeen, Biden is going to have to give a message in which he calls for unity and will have to specify what “is going to happen with (vaccination) mandates by having to stop using the face mask, since the majority does not agree and (…) has to collaborate with what the majority of Americans see as that they can have freedom”.
As of February 26, more than 76 percent of Americans had received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, 62 percent two doses, and 28 percent a booster dose, according to the figures from Our World in Data.
“The pandemic, although giving way, continues to represent a public health problem that cannot be contained until the virus becomes endemic and until a higher percentage of the population decides to get vaccinated,” Felipe Trigos reiterated to France 24.
The economy, the stone in the road
With low popularity, which according to the ABC network barely reaches 37%, President Biden must dedicate a large part of his speech to addressing what most worries his citizens: inflation.
According to the experts consulted by France 24, Biden arrives without being able to exhibit economic successes, which really becomes his biggest challenge.
To address it, according to the White House, Biden will reveal a four-pillar plan that includes: manufacturing more in the United States and strengthening supply chains; reduce the deficit; promote fair competition and eliminate barriers that prevent access to well-paid jobs.
He is also expected to announce new measures to improve conditions in nursing homes and officially introduce Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as his Supreme Court nominee.