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Wednesday, February 8, 2023
Today’s Paper
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Politics|Biden Calls on Republicans to Help Him ‘Finish the Job’ and Build the
Economy

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/07/us/politics/biden-state-union.html
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STATE OF THE UNION

 * Highlights
 * 7 Takeaways
 * Fact Check
 * Full Transcript
 * G.O.P. Response
 * Biden Takes on Detractors

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BIDEN CALLS ON REPUBLICANS TO HELP HIM ‘FINISH THE JOB’ AND BUILD THE ECONOMY

President Biden was heckled during the State of the Union address when he spoke
about fentanyl and when he accused Republicans of threatening Social Security
and Medicare.

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 1. Economy
 2. Law Enforcement
 3. China
 4. Roe v. Wade
 5. Deficit
 6. Health Care
 7. Infrastructure
 8. Immigration
 9. GOP Response

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 4. 
 5. 
 6. 
 7. 
 8. 
 9. 



By Peter Baker

Published Feb. 7, 2023Updated Feb. 8, 2023, 1:21 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON — President Biden challenged the new House Republican majority on
Tuesday night to work together with him to “finish the job” of repairing
America’s unsettled economy and fragile democracy even as the emboldened
opposition geared up to try to force him to change course.

In the first State of the Union address of a new era of divided government that
at times turned strikingly rowdy, Mr. Biden vowed to cooperate with the other
party but offered no concessions to it. Instead, he called on Republicans to
embrace his program of raising taxes on the wealthy and extending social aid to
the needy, citing bipartisan legislation passed when Democrats were in charge.

“To my Republican friends, if we could work together in the last Congress,
there’s no reason we can’t work together and find consensus on important things
in this Congress as well,” Mr. Biden said in what amounted to the opening of a
re-election campaign he plans to formally announce by spring.



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“The people sent us a clear message,” he added. “Fighting for the sake of the
fighting, power for the sake of power, conflict for the sake of conflict, gets
us nowhere.” Instead, he said, “we’ve been sent here to finish the job, in my
view.”


Image
“Fighting for the sake of the fighting, power for the sake of power, conflict
for the sake of conflict, gets us nowhere,” President Biden said during his
State of the Union address on Tuesday.Credit...Kenny Holston/The New York Times


The president’s first major encounter with the newly empowered House Republicans
featured stark moments of unscripted drama the likes of which were rarely seen
during State of the Union addresses of the past. When he mentioned the fentanyl
crisis, introducing a father who lost a daughter to an overdose, some
Republicans heckled him over drugs entering the country. “The border! The
border!” some shouted. “It’s your fault!”

At another point, Mr. Biden engaged in a remarkable spontaneous colloquy with
Republicans when he accused them of threatening Social Security and Medicare, an
assertion that drew some of them to their feet as they rejected the assertion
loudly and angrily. At least one of them shouted, “Bullshit!”

“Liar!” screamed Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia.

“Contact my office,” the president responded, offering to give her proof of his
point.

When Republicans continued to deny they planned to cut the social programs, the
president extended the dialogue, pronouncing himself happy that Republicans were
committing to leave the programs alone. “I’m glad to see — no, I tell you, I
enjoy conversion,” said Mr. Biden, who often refers to his Catholic faith.



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He sought to lock in the moment. “So, folks, as we all apparently agree, Social
Security and Medicare is off the books now, right?” he said. “All right. We’ve
got unanimity.” Then he exhorted the lawmakers. “Let’s stand up for seniors!” he
commanded, one of the few times Republicans did join Democrats in jumping to
their feet to applaud.


BIDEN’S STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

 * Challenging the G.O.P.: In the first State of the Union speech of a new era
   of divided government, President Biden called on Republicans to work with him
   to “finish the job” of repairing the unsettled economy.
 * State of Uncertainty: Mr. Biden used his speech to portray the United States
   as a country in recovery. But what he did not emphasize was that America also
   faces a lot of uncertainty in 2023.
 * Foreign Policy: Mr. Biden spends his days confronting Russia and China. So it
   was especially striking that in his address, he chose to spend relatively
   little time on America’s global role.
 * A Tense Exchange: Before the speech, Senator Mitt Romney admonished
   Representative George Santos, a fellow Republican, telling him he “shouldn’t
   have been there.”

But there was little sense that the two sides would agree on much else. He was
left to shout at Republicans to pass what he could not in the last two years.
“Ban assault weapons now!” he yelled. “Ban them now!”


Image

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, shouted “Liar!” at
Mr. Biden during his speech.Credit...T.J. Kirkpatrick for The New York Times


Introducing the parents of Tyre Nichols, the Black man who died after being
beaten by five police officers in Memphis, who were sitting in the first lady’s
box with Jill Biden, the president implored lawmakers to overhaul policing. “Do
something,” he said. “Do something.”

The 80-year-old president seemed to draw energy from the feisty exchanges,
speaking for 73 minutes to an audience watching to see how he met the test. Mr.
Biden, whose age is a source of anxiety for Democrats, at first raced through
the early pages of his text, occasionally stumbling over words and flubbing some
of his lines. He demoted Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, from
majority leader to minority leader.

But after a shaky start, he appeared to gather momentum in the longest speech to
Congress of his presidency and gave the impression that he enjoyed the
back-and-forth with Republican hecklers. Afterward, he lingered for more than 45
minutes to work the crowd, glad-handing members and posing for selfies. A
forgiving Mr. Schumer exulted that Mr. Biden showed “vigor,” and White House
aides told reporters that they were charged up by the confrontation over social
programs.

Mr. Biden’s finish-the-job mantra, a phrase he repeated a dozen times,
characterized an address that included no major new policy direction. Instead,
reaching out to disaffected Americans who feel left behind economically, he
rattled off a series of relatively modest populist ideas focused on relatable
issues like curbing credit card late fees, airline price gouging and exorbitant
bank overdraft service charges. “Here’s my message to all of you out there: I
have your back,” he said.



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The appeal for bipartisan unity was a message aimed as much at the American
public watching on television as those attending the speech in person, an effort
to position the president as a responsible leader beset by a quarrelsome
opposition. No one expects the Republicans who captured the House in November’s
midterm elections to embrace Mr. Biden’s legislative program, nor for that
matter is the president likely to agree anytime soon to the other side’s demands
for deep spending cuts in exchange for an increase in the debt ceiling.

But the speech and the G.O.P. response will frame the terms of debate heading
into the coming year as Mr. Biden prepares to announce his re-election campaign.
The president and the House are heading for a collision that could jeopardize
the nation’s credit rating and incomplete economic recovery, with both sides
already seeking to win the battle of public opinion. “Some of my Republican
friends want to take the economy hostage,” Mr. Biden charged.

Republicans brushed off Mr. Biden’s call for cooperation on Tuesday even before
he was to arrive at the Capitol, which was once again surrounded by security
fences two years after a mob of President Donald J. Trump’s supporters stormed
the building on Jan. 6, 2021, seeking to halt the counting of electoral votes
sealing Mr. Biden’s election. They portrayed Mr. Biden as a failed leader
captured by the liberal wing of his party.


Image

Soldiers preparing security in front of the Capitol on Tuesday, two years after
a mob of President Donald J. Trump’s supporters stormed the building on Jan. 6,
2021.Credit...T.J. Kirkpatrick for The New York Times


The shifting power dynamics were on display on Tuesday night. Sitting behind the
president for the first time at a joint session was the newly selected
Republican House speaker, Kevin McCarthy of California, who won his post after
15 ballots and promises to his right wing to confront Mr. Biden aggressively at
every turn.



Mr. Biden made a point of congratulating Mr. McCarthy and shaking hands with
him. “Speaker, I don’t want to ruin your reputation,” he said jokingly, “but I
look forward to working with you.” Mr. McCarthy offered a tight smile but sat
unmoved through most of the speech. When some of his members began shouting,
though, he seemed to be trying to shush them.

The hovering presence of the president’s defeated predecessor manifested itself
as well, with the party’s official response assigned to Gov. Sarah Huckabee
Sanders of Arkansas, who served as Mr. Trump’s White House press secretary. Mr.
Trump has already announced his campaign to run for president again in next
year’s election, setting up the prospect of a rematch with Mr. Biden.



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“He is simply unfit to serve as commander in chief,” Ms. Sanders said of Mr.
Biden in her speech. “And while you reap the consequences of their failures, the
Biden administration seems more interested in woke fantasies than the hard
reality Americans face every day. Most Americans simply want to live their lives
in freedom and peace, but we are under attack in a left-wing culture war we
didn’t start and never wanted to fight.”

In taking the rostrum on Tuesday night, however, Mr. Biden’s challenge was not
only to navigate the new partisan realities of Washington but to persuade the
broader nation that it is on the right path after the devastation wreaked by the
Covid-19 pandemic and the Jan. 6 attack. He sought to offer an optimistic vision
in sour times, celebrating economic gains at a moment when polls show that many
Americans still do not feel them.

The president touted recent gains in the economy, including falling inflation
and strong job growth, while taking credit for legislation meant to curb
prescription drug prices for seniors, expand health benefits for veterans,
invest in climate change programs and rebuild roads and bridges.

“Two years ago, Covid had shut down our businesses, closed our schools, and
robbed us of so much,” Mr. Biden said. “Today, Covid no longer controls our
lives. And two years ago, democracy faced its greatest threat since the Civil
War. Today, though bruised, our democracy remains unbowed and unbroken.”

He directly addressed those who still remain unsettled by the economy.

“You wonder whether a path even exists anymore for your children to get ahead
without having to move away. Well, that’s why I get that,” he said. “That’s why
we’re building an economy where no one is left behind. Jobs are coming back;
pride is coming back.”

He added: “You know, this is, in my view, a blue-collar blueprint to rebuild
America and make a real difference in your lives at home.”


Image

The House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, sat behind the president for the first time
during a State of the Union address.Credit...T.J. Kirkpatrick for The New York
Times


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The speech came at a time when Mr. Biden has scored major policy successes and
forged a broad coalition against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but polls show
that most Americans are not satisfied with his leadership and even most
Democrats would prefer that someone else run for president in 2024. Mr. Biden
has among the lowest average second-year approval ratings of any modern
president; only Mr. Trump’s second-year average was worse.

Clouding Mr. Biden’s message was a new special counsel investigation into the
mishandling of classified documents and the furor over a Chinese spy balloon
that crossed American airspace. Republicans have spent the last few days
hammering Mr. Biden for perceived weakness, arguing that he should have ordered
the military to shoot the balloon down right away rather than waiting until it
reached the Atlantic Ocean to avoid possible casualties on the ground.

Mr. Biden skirted around the balloon episode, making no explicit reference to it
but alluding to his decision to shoot it down as an example of his determination
to stand tough against Beijing when necessary. “Make no mistake about it: As we
made clear last week, if China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect
our country,” he said. “And we did.”

Still, foreign policy otherwise barely rated a passing mention in the speech. He
tried to cement bipartisan support for his efforts to send tens of billions of
dollars in arms and other aid to Ukraine to help it defeat Russian forces,
nearly a year after Moscow’s unprovoked invasion. Mr. McCarthy said last fall
that if Republicans won there would be no more “blank check” for Ukraine, and
while most G.O.P. lawmakers continue to support military aid, polls show rising
skepticism among Republican voters.

Mr. Biden introduced Oksana Markarova, the Ukrainian ambassador to the United
States, who was in the first lady’s box. “We are going to stand with you as long
as it takes,” he said.

Others joining Mrs. Biden for the speech included Bono, the singer who has
championed AIDS treatment, and Paul Pelosi, the husband of former Speaker Nancy
Pelosi who was attacked in their San Francisco home by a man hunting his wife.

Also there were cancer survivors, business owners, students, a young immigrant
seeking legal status, the father of a fentanyl overdose victim, a couple who
pushed to legalize same-sex marriage, a Holocaust survivor, an ironworker, a
Navy spouse, the man who disarmed a shooter in Monterey Park, Calif., and a
woman who encountered trouble in pregnancy but could not be helped because of
Texas’ abortion law.



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Image

The parents of Tyre Nichols, who was killed by Memphis police officers, were
guests of the first lady.Credit...Kenny Holston/The New York Times


Absent from the chamber, though, was Marty Walsh, the labor secretary who was
chosen to stay away as a designated survivor in case of a catastrophe at the
Capitol and is reported to be stepping down soon.

In his speech, Mr. Biden called on Congress to extend a new $35 price cap on
insulin for Medicare beneficiaries to all Americans; to make premium savings on
Affordable Care Act health plans permanent; to impose a minimum tax on
billionaires; and to quadruple the tax on corporate stock buybacks.

While those did not generate much applause from Republicans, Mr. Biden
nonetheless put forward the latest elements of what aides call his “unity
agenda,” a menu of policy proposals that presumably could attract bipartisan
support. Among them were initiatives to tackle the opioid epidemic, enhance
cancer research and treatment, expand access to mental health services, and
improve benefits for veterans.

As important as his program may be, the president also faced pressure to ensure
a smooth performance in front of what was likely to be his largest television
audience of the year. If he seeks re-election, he would be asking voters to
entrust the White House to him until he is 86. Polls show that even many
Democrats are concerned about his age and eager to see a younger generation rise
to leadership of the party.

Ms. Sanders directly went after him over his age. “At 40, I’m the youngest
governor in the country. And at 80, he’s the oldest president in American
history,” she said. She added: “It is time for a new generation of Republican
leadership,” without saying whether that meant her former boss, Mr. Trump, who
is 76, should be nominated for a third time.

Mr. Biden still did not shy from the fight. Even when he was promoting
bipartisanship, he relished jabbing Republicans. At one point, he noted that
many Republicans voted against an infrastructure package yet still asked for
money from it for their districts.

“Don’t worry,” he told them. “I promised I’d be a president for all Americans.
We’ll fund these projects. And I’ll see you at the groundbreaking.”







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