When is Biden’s State of the Union speech?

WASHINGTON — Look for new faces and new political dynamics as President Joe Biden delivers this year’s State of the Union address, bringing attention to some old issues brought back by recent events. pain point.

The president on Tuesday night will stand before a joint session of Congress for the first time since midterm voters handed control of the House to Republicans. Biden, like previous presidents, will demonstrate that the nation is strong and that better days are ahead. But he finds himself in murky waters as he is halfway through his term.

After a string of legislative victories during Biden’s first two years in office, Republicans are looking to undo some of his early victories. Recent mass shootings and a police murder in Memphis, Tennessee, have brought the issue of gun violence and overpowering police into focus. And on the foreign policy front, Biden faces the formidable task of keeping the Western coalition — and American voters — united in support of Ukraine in an effort to repel Russia’s ongoing invasion. He is also dealing with the aftermath of the US shooting down of a suspected Chinese spy balloon floating over the US last week. On top of that, a special counsel is investigating how classified information from Biden’s days as vice president and senator got to his former home and office in Delaware.

Some things to see on Tuesday night:

The keynote is set for 9 p.m. EST on Tuesday.

It will be broadcast by major networks and cable news channels.

AP will live stream the speech at APNews.com. The White House plans to stream it on its website and make it available on its YouTube, Facebook and Twitter pages. Live broadcast will also be provided by C-SPAN, C-SPAN Radio and C-SPAN.org. NPR is streaming the keynote on its website, npr.org, and on its app, in addition to providing live coverage to its member radio stations.

The State of the Union is an annual event for the president.

This year, new GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy took the hammer and sat behind Biden on the podium this time, not the Democratic Party’s Nancy Pelosi. Take a look at the body language between the two — and how Republican lawmakers generally treated Biden after some harsh Republican backlash from audiences last year.

The president and new speaker recently had a productive but deadlocked first discussion about the nation’s borrowing limit. Republicans have refused to raise the statutory debt limit unless Biden accepts federal spending cuts. Biden has said that a cap increase is not essential for negotiation and that Congress must pay the nation’s bills or the country will face economic disaster.

The Democratic chairman last week said McCarthy had made “absolutely impossible” commitments to win the speakership. Biden’s flamboyant sarcasm may not be as sharp in his official speech, but notice that he will argue more subtly that there’s a big gap between how he and the Republican Party are. equal access to the economy, health care and social security.

The parents of Tire Nichols, who was brutally beaten by police in Memphis and later died, are expected to be present at Biden’s speech. So did Brandon Tsay, who disarmed the gunman who shot dead 11 people last month in Monterey Park, California, along with others who jumped in on recent mass shootings.

See how Biden, in their presence, talked about Nichols’ recent mass shooting and battered death, following his previous efforts to tackle gun violence and excesses police force was severely limited by resistance in Congress.

There will be plenty of new faces in the crowd when Biden addresses the nation. The nation has had a new Supreme Court judge since last year’s speech in Ketanji Brown Jackson, and in recent years judges have tended to attend speeches by presidents who nominated them. There were also new legislators from both sides. Among those in the spotlight: Representative George Santos, a New York Republican who has been in the spotlight for his embellishments and lies about his education and work experience. work as well as other aspects of his personal and professional life.

Wait for Biden to talk about the military’s decision to shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon on Saturday, but how tough will he be on China?

His comments on the hot air balloon will be part of a broader piece aimed at countering China’s more assertive economic and military actions around the world.

Biden has repeatedly said that the United States is committed to helping Ukraine “as long as there is time” to fight back against Russia. The United States has committed nearly $30 billion in security assistance since the beginning of the war.

Polls show that Americans are generally still supportive of Ukraine as it tries to counter Russia. However, administration officials have made it clear to Ukraine that Congress’ patience over the costs of war is not endless.

Look for Biden to highlight that Ukraine was able to continue the war with a more formidable Russian military thanks to the generosity of the United States and its allies. He will also try to explain why Americans must continue to engage in a war that has ramifications far beyond Europe.

Will Biden bring it up? No possibility.

After criticizing his predecessor, Republican President Donald Trump, for keeping secret documents after his presidency, Biden now finds himself in the midst of a special counsel investigation. particular about classified documents found in his old home and office.

The White House said it was important to distinguish between Biden’s voluntary handover of documents and the conduct of Trump, who refused to turn over hundreds of documents, prompting the FBI to raid his home.

Biden was likely to steer clear of controversy during his speech, as previous presidents have tended to avoid mentioning anything that gets them in trouble.

Biden is expected to announce that he will run for re-election at some point this spring, but voters are increasingly opinionated that he should stick with one term. Will Biden address the re-election question directly? Sure is not. But his speech was most likely framed as an argument for a four-year extension of Biden’s White House. And millions of viewers will judge not just Biden’s words but his words as well as they weigh whether it’s a good idea or not.

The new governor of Arkansas, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, will deliver the Republican response to Biden’s speech.

Sanders took issue early in his term on hot-button cultural issues in schools by issuing executive orders aimed at teaching critical racial theory in Arkansas schools. and expressed support for legislation banning guidance on sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten through third grade. grant.

Don’t expect her to hold back on the national stage in making the case that Democrats are out of touch with mainstream American values.

It’s back: the tall, majestic security fence at the Capitol complex.

After the uprising on January 6, 2021 on the US Capitol by Trump supporters who refused to accept Biden’s election victory, a large fence was erected around the area. land as a temporary security measure.

It stayed there for six months before finally being removed. It goes back to shortly before last year’s State of the Union speech, when Democrats were still in power in Congress. And now it’s back again for this year’s address.