By Marta Garde
Washington, Mar 7 (EFE).- United States President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech Thursday addressed the November elections and his foreseeable rival, Republican Donald Trump, who was the target of criticism and warnings despite not being explicitly named.
Before the two chambers of congress, with the Democratic bench supporting him with constant applause and ovations and the conservative bench reproaching and booing him, the president spoke for just over an hour. He defended his administration and criticized the danger he said his adversary could pose.
«… unlike my predecessor, I know who we are as Americans. We are the only nation in the world with a heart and soul that draws from old and new,» he said, making a plea for unity without demonizing immigration.
This was the third time he appeared before legislators and the last before November’s presidential elections to decide whether he remains in the White House or if Trump takes over.
Both candidates emerged strengthened from the Super Tuesday primaries earlier this week, when 15 states held primaries, but the president’s popularity is going through a difficult moment.
According to the average of polls on the FiveThirtyEight website, 56.3 percent of citizens do not approve of his work, 26 points more than at the beginning of his mandate.
Biden is also weighed by the US’ support for Israel and his lukewarm condemnation of the offensive on Gaza. Supporters of a ceasefire on Thursday blocked the main access route to the Capitol with banners calling the president’s legacy a «genocide» and delaying his speech by 20 minutes.
Biden said he is working for an immediate and temporary ceasefire in Gaza that allows the release of Hamas hostages and the entry of humanitarian aid to the enclave. As the White House had anticipated, he ordered the US army to enable a port in the Strip that makes the entry of aid possible.
The president needed not only to maintain his followers, but also prevent the punishment vote from having a significant impact on him at the polls, especially among young people. On Super Tuesday, in states such as Minnesota, blank ballots were close to 20 percent.
Biden, 81, looked energetic and spoke fluidly. Many have doubted his physical and mental ability to govern and he seemed aware of the scrutiny.
«… The issue facing our nation isn’t how old we are, it’s how old our ideas are. Hate, anger, revenge, retribution are among the oldest of ideas. But you can’t lead America with ancient ideas that only take us back,» he said.
Biden implied that a second Trump mandate would endanger the country’s political system.
«What makes this moment strange is that freedom and democracy are under attack both at home and abroad at the same time,» he noted.
He called on congressmen not to «bury the truth» of what happened on Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump supporters attacked the Capitol while his electoral victory was being certified, and urged them to favor free and fair elections.
He kept his firm support for countries such as Ukraine over Russia.
«My message to President (Vladimir) Putin is simple. We will not walk away. We will not bow down. I will not bow down. History is watching,» he said.
He also proposed increasing the minimum corporate tax to 21 percent and for large fortunes to pay a minimum of 25 percent of their income, as well as ending tax savings for large pharmaceutical companies, large oil companies, private planes and large payments to executives.
On his social network Truth Social, Trump commented live on his successor’s intervention with a mocking and offensive tone, which targeted both the president and his ideas.
«That may be the Angriest, Least Compassionate, and Worst State of the Union Speech ever made,» he said, calling the president “crazy.” EFE
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