In State of the Union, Biden seeks contrast with Trump on abortion, democracy

© Reuters. U.S. President Joe Biden looks on before boarding Air Force One at Hagerstown Regional Airport in Hagerstown, Maryland, U.S. March 5, 2024. REUTERS/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades

By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden on Thursday will use his last State of the Union address before the U.S. election to sharpen distinctions with Donald Trump on the economy, and to try to ease voter concerns about his age and the Gaza war.

Biden’s annual address, an event that stems from the U.S. Constitution’s requirement that a president report to Congress “from time to time,” will be held at 9 p.m. ET (0200 GMT on Friday) before a joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and a televised audience.

It may be the Democratic president’s biggest stage to reach the millions of voters weighing whether to vote for him, choose Republican challenger Trump, or sit out the Nov. 5 election. Nikki Haley, Trump’s last remaining rival for his party’s presidential nomination, dropped out on Wednesday.

Opinion polls show Biden, 81, and Trump, 77, closely matched in the race. Most American voters are not enthusiastic about the rematch after Biden defeated Trump four years ago.

While he is unlikely to mention Trump by name, Biden will go into the well of the House chamber aiming to convince voters that he is fighting to protect democracy from the former president, who continues to repeat false claims about his 2020 election loss and has proposed jailing political enemies.

Biden will also vow to protect abortion rights from Republicans and to lower costs for Americans facing high prices.

“You’re going to hear the president address how democracy is under attack, how freedoms are certainly under attack,” including women’s reproductive rights and voting rights, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told MSNBC on Thursday.

Biden will renew his quest to make wealthy Americans and corporations pay more in taxes, unveiling new proposals including higher minimum taxes for companies and Americans with wealth over $100 million.

Any such tax reform is unlikely unless Democrats win strong majorities in both houses of Congress in November, which is not forecast.

Biden also is set to push for new measures to lower housing costs, including a $10,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers, and use his legislative successes on infrastructure and computer chips production to show what is possible if he is given another four years in office.

“Joe Biden is on the run from his record … to escape accountability for the horrific devastation he and his party have created,” Trump said before the speech on his Truth Social platform.

GAZA ANNOUNCEMENT

Biden also is expected to try to cool anger among many liberal voters over his support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. Biden will announce during the speech that the U.S. military will build a port on Gaza’s Mediterranean coast to receive humanitarian assistance by sea, U.S. officials told reporters.

Some Democratic lawmakers were expected to wear ceasefire pins during the speech. A movement to end Israel’s Gaza offensive led to nearly a fifth of Minnesota Democratic voters selecting “uncommitted” rather than voting for Biden on Tuesday following a similar vote in Michigan’s Democratic primary last month.

Biden is expected to use the speech to push, again, for a $95 billion aid package for weapons to Ukraine and aid to Israel that has been blocked by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson.

Those priorities will also be reflected in the president’s guests for the speech, including Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who is in Washington as Sweden formally joins NATO on Thursday, two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Other White House guests include people affected by in vitro fertilization or abortion restrictions, a veteran of the 1965 Bloody Sunday attack on Black marchers in Selma, Alabama, United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain and others.

Biden released a video ahead of the speech with comments from actors who have played American presidents in movies, including Morgan Freeman of disaster film “Deep Impact.”

“My advice is just keep telling us how you’re working for us and building hope,” Freeman said.

While U.S. Senator Katie Britt of Alabama will deliver Republican’s formal response to the speech, Trump has said he plans to respond live online during Biden’s remarks.

TRUMP COMPARISONS

The U.S. economy is performing better than most high-income countries, with continued job growth and consumer spending. However, Republican voters tell pollsters they are deeply dissatisfied with the economy, and Americans overall give Trump better marks in polls for economic issues.

“We intend to remind voters of the chaos and lasting damage Trump caused as president,” Biden’s reelection campaign said.

Amid concerns about Biden’s fitness for a second term after a series of slipups, the president’s performance will be closely watched for signs of physical or mental weakness. Biden is expected to speak for at least an hour, reading from a teleprompter.

If last year’s State of the Union is any guide, Republicans loyal to Trump who fought most of Biden’s legislative proposals for the past year could provide a raucous audience.

“This is a chance for him to really project and possibly allay some concerns about his age,” said Vanderbilt University presidential historian Thomas Alan Schwartz.