By: Alexander Winton
President Biden delivered the State of the Union address last Tuesday to a divided congress. As expected Biden touted his accomplishments and attempted to reach across the aisle but his speech was interrupted more than once by Republican lawmakers in the audience.
Much of Biden's speech was dedicated to stressing his own record on the economy, namely his administration's pandemic recovery efforts.
Biden also used the speech as an opportunity to call out the GOP. He accused them of threatening to revoke entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security. Biden did not name name’s but he appeared to be taking a shot across the bow at Florida Senator Rick Scott. Scott has since denied these accusations but his record reveals he has proposed cuts to Social Security and Medicare and increases to prescription drug prices and health care premiums on several occasions. These criticisms from Biden elicited boos from members of the GOP that culminated in Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene shouting "Liar!" Despite the heckling, Biden's speech was relatively gaffe-free.
Besides the economy, Biden also answered the growing calls for sweeping police reform. In attendance were the grieving family of Tyre Nichols, the black man who was beaten to death by police officers in Memphis, who Biden directly addressed:
“There are no words to describe the heartbreak and grief of losing a child.
But imagine what it’s like to lose a child at the hands of the law. Imagine having to worry whether your son or daughter will come home from walking down the street or playing in the park or just driving their car. I’ve never had to have the talk with my children – Beau, Hunter, and Ashley – that so many Black and Brown families have had with their children,” he said.
The customary Republican Response to Biden's speech was delivered by Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders who primarily zeroed in on culture war issues, accusing Biden of being beholden to the woke left.
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