U.S. President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress as Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) listen on February 7, 2023 in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC.
Jacquelyn Martin | Pool | Getty Images
President Joe Biden’s second State of the Union address played well with viewers, and may have helped him tee up a bid for reelection in 2024 — but it might not make a lasting impact on his hopes for a second term, experts said.
In his speech to Congress Tuesday night, Biden issued an appeal for political unity while touting his legislative achievements and taking credit for some recent improvements to the U.S. economy. He also sketched a broad outline of his policy goals for his next two years in the White House, including a new minimum tax on billionaires and a beefed-up tax on corporate stock buybacks.
Now halfway through his term, Biden called on the newly divided Congress to help him “finish the job” — a phrase that could lend itself to a reelection campaign — in part by building on his legislative accomplishments, such as expanding a $35 cap on the price of insulin.
“These and other features of the president’s speech signaled an important part of his reelection strategy — increasing Democrats’ share of the working-class vote, which fell to historically low levels during the 2016 and 2020 elections,” William Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said in a blog post Wednesday morning.
“He clearly believes that his party’s weakness among these voters reflects economic rather than cultural issues. Many analysts disagree with him, and we won’t know who’s right until November of 2024,” Galston said.
Biden has yet to confirm his plans for the next election cycle. The White House has said Biden intends to run again, and news outlets report he’s expected to make a decision soon.
“I’m not sure if Biden’s speech will help him to win the election in 2024, but he…
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