THE 2023 STATE OF THE UNION: REAFFIRM THE POSITION OF AMERICA

On February 7, President Joe Biden delivered his speech at the State of the Union. Unlike his 2022 the State of the Union, Biden was facing the majority of Republicans in Congress after they won the House in the 2022 Midterm Election.

But it didn’t mean Biden was afraid of them. When Biden entered the chamber, he greeted everyone with a smiling and warm welcome. Of course, the Democrats were super happy to see him. On the other side, the Republicans were trying to be polite. Deep inside, they hated him so much, and like predicted before, the Republicans would not leave Biden alone. During his speech, the whole chamber was like on fire. Seriously, they couldn’t keep away from standing up and clapping.

Source: REUTERS

During his speech, Biden kept struggling with his talking. He couldn’t talk smoothly from the beginning till the end. He had some difficulties speaking a few words from the teleprompter correctly. But it is not because of that Biden showed his nervousness in front of everyone in the chamber. He still showed the confidence of a president and told them that the wind had changed.

In the beginning, Biden congratulated Kevin McCarthy for being the 55th Speaker of the House. Biden joked that he didn’t want to ruin McCarthy’s reputation but looked forward to working with him. He mocked how McCarthy must go through 15 voting rounds to hold his gravel. Then, Biden turned to Hakeem Jeffries and praised him as the first African American House Minority Leader. He also honored Mitch McConnell for being the longest-served Minority Leader of the Senate, but he didn’t stand up while other colleagues stood up and clapped hands; Chuck Schumer, the Majority Leader of the Senate, for his work; and Nancy Pelosi, the former Speaker of the House whom Biden praised as “the greatest Speaker in the history of the House of Representative.” It was like a knife stabbing directly into McCarthy’s heart when he said that.

“The story of America is a story of progress and resilience. Of always moving forward. Of never giving up” is what Biden wanted to emphasize and used as the central theme of his 2023 State of the Union. Indeed, when Biden took Office in 2021, the United States was on track to recover after Covid-19, which was handled poorly by the Trump administration. “Progress” and “resilience” are two words to describe the nature of America that Biden wanted to remind everyone in Congress to focus on. Like other presidents of the United States, Biden always tried his best to keep America moving forward and reassure everyone can have “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” even if he faced many criticisms. But it would always be the priority of every American.

And like other presidents who spoke at the State of the Union and only focused on the achievement in their previous presidency, Biden took the chance to “show” every member of Congress what his administration had achieved. Of course, only Democrats agreed with everything he said. However, the Republicans were not fond of what he spoke. Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene (R) even shout “liar” during Biden’s speech. Look at the face of every Republican. It was as if they wanted to leave the room. It was expected, after all. Party people stand with their people and keep nodding even if what they say is wrong.

Watching Biden’s 2023 State of the Union talk about what he achieved and remind everyone what America is with its values and strength, it seemed like Biden wanted to hint at his re-election in 2024. Here are some critical moments with the analysis of what Biden said. They had reaffirmed the position of America.

The Economy and Creating More Jobs

This is what the Biden administration is proud of the most. More jobs. There is no denying Biden’s effort to create more jobs for Americans after Covid-19. According to the report from the White House, with Biden’s economic plan, there are nearly 11 million jobs (by the time he spoke at the State of the Union, it was 12 million jobs), and the unemployment rate has reached the lowest point at 3.4% comparing to the prediction for 3.6% in 50 years in both 2021 and 2022. It is remarkable. Also, the rise of small businesses in each state is on the vertical.

Parallel with that, inflation and gas price has sign of reducing. In 2021, the inflation rate was 7.1%. However, the highest inflation rate in 40 years was recorded in June 2022, when it reached 9.1%. But by December 2022, the number had reduced to 6.5%. And the gas price went from $5 per gallon last summer to $3.50.

Biden should not be too happy with his economic plan, which he is very proud of. It can be changed anytime if he doesn’t pay attention closely. Remember that the U.S. only stepped out of Covid-19 for two years. There is a long road ahead, and the economy can flip the whole table anytime.

Calling for Solidarity. Sorry, the Republicans can’t do it.

“To my Republican friends, if we could work together in the last Congress, there is no reason we can’t work together in this new Congress,” Biden said in his speech. “The people sent us a clear message. Fighting for the sake of fighting, power for the sake of power, conflict for the sake of conflict, gets us nowhere.”

Biden called out the inconsistency between two parties, who cannot agree on anything that would divide the country. Therefore, the two parties must work together to bring back the nation. It is straightforward, but taking action is still far away. Everyone could tell through the face of every Republican in the room. They didn’t like what Biden said. Especially when he publicly criticized the previous administration for the rise of the deficit and proudly said that the Biden administration had cut the deficit by more than $1.7 trillion, which he claimed was “the largest deficit reduction in American history.” According to Congressional Budget Office’s report in May 2022, they predicted the federal budget would shrink to $1 trillion in the same year and fall to an estimate of $1.6 trillion from 2023 to 2032. Meanwhile, under the Trump administration, because of Trump’s tax cut and spending increases, the deficit reached $3 trillion, and the debt went beyond 100% of the economy. That’s hurt. It was like a big slap to some MAGA followers in the room.

And talking about Trump, soon after the State of the Union, he made a video sharing his opinion on Biden on Truth Social. He blamed Biden for the rising crime rate, causing the worst inflation, weaponizing the Justice Department and claiming himself as “a victim,” violating the Freedom of Speech and being the most corrupt president. At the end of the video, Trump announced he would run for president in 2024 to complete the job of “making American great again.”

With that, how can both parties work together? There are too many conflicts between them.

Healthcare.

This is the topic that is discussed without ending. Biden took this topic to a new level when he put it in a scenario. “For example, too many of you lay in bed at night staring at the ceiling, wondering what will happen if your spouse gets cancer, your child gets sick, or if something happens to you. Will you have the money to pay your medical bills? Will you have to sell the house?”

It turned out he was talking about his own experience. Biden’s oldest son, Beau Biden, died of brain cancer at 46 in 2015. Biden, Vice President then, and his wife, Jill Biden, planned to sell their house in Delaware to support Beau’s family if he could not work as well as his family’s bill. President Barack Obama offered to help Biden financially.

Biden brought up that scenario to remind everyone about healthcare in America which not so many people can access. There were roughly 30 million American people who didn’t have health insurance in 2021. But in 2022, a significant number of over 16 million people signed up for quality, affordable health coverage, increasing by 50%. It was a record-breaking number ever produced in an open enrollment period.

Biden didn’t hesitate to call out Big Pharma for making profits instead of helping people. He wanted to lower the cost of insulin to $35 a month for every American on Medicare and the cost of drugs, which he claimed could cut the federal deficit. Right now, no one can understand how it works. But it is all on Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act that he had a bright vision. He wanted every American to access the Affordable Care Act to deal with over-the-roof medical each time someone has to go to the hospital. In one speech, Biden addressed the importance of lowering the healthcare cost and strengthening Medicare, and he called it “a big part of the progress that we’ve been making on inflation” on September 27, 2022, at Rose Garden.

At the State of the Union, Biden once again emphasized the role of healthcare in the life of each American and insisted that everyone deserves to have one. It looked like Biden took this one personally because of what he had been through. His story is only one of a million stories in the U.S. in which many people had to pay out of their pocket for hospital bills. Meanwhile, they don’t have much money. Biden also targeted the Republicans by saying firmly, “If you try to do anything to raise the cost of prescription drugs, I will veto it.”

Consolidating the Trust in the Police Force.

In the State of the Union, there was the appearance of Tyre Nichols’ parents. Everyone in the room stood up and gave them a round of applause. On January 7th, 2023, Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, was beaten up by five Memphis black police and died three days later. The death of Nichols sparked outrage nationwide. Everyone was so frustrated in front of police brutality.

By honoring Nichols’ parents, Biden wanted to remind everyone about the role of law enforcement, who must protect the community and “earn the community’s trust.” Again, Biden put this in another scenario on how the children of a family were driving a car and pulled over by the police. All they can do is keep their hands on the steering wheel and do nothing. Only one movement can cost their lives. It must be heartbroken. According to an ongoing statistic from the Washington Post, in the past 12 months, 1,110 people were shot and killed by police.

But Biden didn’t take the chance to criticize the police. He shared his sympathize with law enforcement, who do so many jobs at the same time. Their job is not only watching the neighborhood or doing justice. They are also counselors and psychologists. They deal with drugs and mental health crises. There is so much pressure that a police officer has to deal with. Biden was right. Not every police are terrible. So many good police out there are trying to protect people with all their respect and the oath they took. The police force is a part of everyone’s lives. Only a few bad seeds made the whole police force like some monster. There is kindness inside each police because they are protecting us. They risk their lives daily to ensure people have a safe and peaceful life. When someone is in trouble, they will be the first responder.

Biden called for proper training for every police to ensure they can keep everyone safe, more first responders who can deal with mental health, and the, most important, that police must hold accountable when they lose the trust of the Americans.

The Republicans and the Democrats agreed on this one.

Gun Violence

The Republicans were not happy on this one. They strongly support gun rights. But did they ever reflect on what happened to this nation regarding gun violence? Did they ever shed a tear when many innocent lives were being taken away because of guns? Let’s take a look at this video featuring Republican Midterm Ads where they are shooting guns. They are promoting it.

Of course, it is stated in the Second Amendment. “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” No one can take away the right to own a gun of an American. That’s for sure. But too many people died under the guns. A concerned statistic from Gifford shows that guns kill Americans every day, with nearly 41,000 deaths yearly, which is over 110 gun deaths each day. It doesn’t sound good at all.

Brandon Tsay, a 26-year-old man, was honored as a hero at the State of the Union for his brave action when he took action to get rid of the semi-automatic pistol from the gunman who had killed 11 people at a dance studio in Monterey Park, California on the Lunar New Year Eve.

Tsay was ready to sacrifice himself to protect other people. Biden urged others to do the same thing. “Ban assault weapons once and for all,” Biden said. But none of the Republicans were interested in this. Biden doesn’t need to ban assault weapons. All they need to do is make the laws stricter for a person to purchase a gun. They must pass every background check to get access to a gun. Ban the idiot, not the gun, because it can be used for defense.

Reaffirm the Position of America.

The central theme of this year’s State of the Union is "a story of progress and resilience. Of always moving forward. Of never giving up" to look back at where this country was before and what country is right now and will be in the future.

Biden said America now has more allies, and together, they can solve every problem that the world is facing. Yes, “united we stand, divided we fall.”

At the end of his speech, Biden had a special message for every American. He said that America is facing a test, and everyone must stay optimistic, hopeful, and forward-looking. It sounds like an equation. But indeed, America had been through so many dark times in history since the day the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution. Throughout time, the enemies thought they could defeat America. But they were wrong. If they push America down, America will stand up more potent than ever. “A nation that embraces light over darkness hope over fear, unity over division. Stability over chaos,” Biden said with a proud voice.

Looking back at all the difficulties the Biden administration had to deal with to fix the problem inside America after the big mess from the previous administration. There is much pressure on shoulders Biden, and as a president, he cannot allow himself to surrender in front of any situation. His speech at the State of the Union today reminds everyone to be united and work together no matter who they are. America needs that thing more than ever.

To close the 2023 State of the Union, Biden reinstated the value of America. “Because the soul of this nation is strong, because the backbone of this nation is strong, because the people of this nation are strong, the State of the Union is strong.” Like America, this nation has been strong already because this is the United States of America.