(Washington) Mud in the polls, encumbered by his age, jostled by the affair of the Chinese balloon, Joe Biden will try Tuesday, before Congress, to tell the Americans that he remains their best option despite everything.
“I want to talk to the American people and educate them. What is going on ? What are my projects? What have we done ? This is how the 80-year-old president summed up Monday what will be his solemn “State of the Union speech” in front of a few journalists.
Joe Biden has not formalized his candidacy for the 2024 election. If he runs, he will have to convince his compatriots to give him the keys to the White House until he is 86 years old, he who is already the president the oldest ever elected.
He is starting from afar: according to a survey by the Washington Post and the ABC chain, 62% of Americans believe that the Democrat has “not done much” or “almost nothing” since January 2021.
This is particularly problematic for the Democrat: not frankly charismatic or particularly focused on oratorical flights, the American president is counting on his record.
Robust economy
However, the gigantic investments and major economic reforms initiated by Joe Biden do not impress the electorate, any more than the robust growth or the low unemployment rate. Households are still marked by a historic surge in inflation, more tangible than the increase in Gross Domestic Product.
The US executive has planned a series of trips to try to remedy this.
It is therefore necessary that the president multiplies the inaugurations of tunnels and bridges, and travels the country to talk about the cost of living – proving in passing that he has the energy necessary to govern while campaigning.
The Democrat knows that his best chance, as already in 2020, is not to present himself as the candidate of the heart, but as that of reason against former President Donald Trump, already in the campaign.
Faced with Republican masters of the House of Representatives and ready for all confrontations, Joe Biden should present himself as a pragmatic president, open to political dialogue.
Biden, Trump, same disenchantment
Small consolation: the candidacy of the Republican billionaire does not inspire more enthusiasm than his.
According to the previously cited poll, 62% of Americans would be “disappointed” or “unhappy” if Joe Biden were re-elected in 2024, and 56% would be for Donald Trump.
In a “State of the Union”, the president traditionally sweeps away all possible domestic policy issues.
But this year, as in 2022, international perils will figure prominently.
Last year, Joe Biden addressed Congress a few days after the invasion of Ukraine.
This time, he will be able to present himself as a pilot of the Western response against Russia.
But it will be especially awaited on China.
“Why did the Chinese send a balloon over the United States? asked a reporter. “Because it’s the Chinese,” he replied, with a smile.
China
But before Congress on Tuesday, he will need more than a pirouette.
According to one of the White House spokesmen, John Kirby, the president will talk about “America’s leading role in the world” in general, and in particular “the management of the strategic rivalry with China . »
The conservative opposition accuses him of having lacked firmness in delaying the shooting down, on Saturday, of the machine which had been flying over America for several days.
Nikki Haley, former ambassador to the UN and ready to challenge Donald Trump for the Republican nomination in 2024, has already asserted on Twitter that “Biden lets China step on us. It’s time for America to be strong again.”
To formally respond to Joe Biden, the Republican Party has appointed Sarah Huckabee Sanders, former spokesperson for Donald Trump, now Governor of Arkansas. She has already given the tenor of her speech: “Defend our freedom against the radical left. »