OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
President Joe Biden’s Twitter account posted the first page of his State of the Union address he is slated to give Tuesday evening, drawing snarky and sarcastic responses from several users.
“Getting ready,” said the caption accompanying the photo, which contained his introduction as well as this instruction: “Pause.”
Getting ready. pic.twitter.com/UhERyDuxTO
— President Biden (@POTUS) February 6, 2023
And it was the ‘pause’ instruction that appeared to draw the most response.
“Make sure you don’t read the word inside the brackets Mr. President,” immigration attorney Matthew Kolken quipped.
“You won’t remember where you’re at. why practice?” joked Beth Baumann, a digital marketer and former Townhall.com writer.
“Was this speech delivered to you from the balloon?” conservative activist Brandon Straka added.
“Remember to emphasize that half the women in your Administration are women. Thank you,” defense Attorney David Wohl wrote.
“Get plenty of rest. Please, no yelling and God help us no whispering! Don’t forget your juice box,” said Sal LaBabera, a former LAPD homicide detective.
Biden’s SOTU speech comes on the heels of another poll indicating that a majority of Americans do not want him to run for reelection next year.
According to the results of a CNBC All-America Economic Survey, a majority of respondents do not want Biden to run again in 2024.
“The survey found 61% of the public think Trump should not seek the presidency, compared with 30% who believe he should. And 70% say Biden should not run for a second term with just 19% supporting a run,” CNBC reported, citing the survey’s results.
“Substantial numbers in each politicians’ own party prefer their names not be on the ballot, including 37% of Republicans who don’t want Trump to run along with 61% of independents and 88% of Democrats,” the report continued. “For Biden, 57% of Democrats say he shouldn’t stand for office in 2024 along with 66% of independents and 86% of Republicans.”
The report provided additional insights gleaned from the survey:
Biden has other problems other than age. Despite a stronger-than-expected showing by Democrats in the congressional elections and several legislative victories, Biden’s overall approval slipped to 41% from 46% in the October survey, with his disapproval rising to 54% from 50%. The President’s economic approval slipped to 38% from 40% and disapproval rose a point to 57%.
Just 20% of the public think the Biden administration’s efforts to ease inflation are helping, a five-point decline from October; 28% believe they are hurting, a two-point decline, and 49% say they’re not making much difference, a 7-point jump.
Pollsters went on to note that while most Democrats and Republicans do not want Biden and Trump, respectively, to run, they would nevertheless support both of them if they became their party’s presidential nominee. Trump has formally announced a 2024 run, while Biden has yet to do so; should Biden decline to run again, it isn’t clear that Vice President Kamala Harris is the odds-on favorite to win what would likely be a bruising Democratic primary season.
In fact, previous reports have indicated that influencers are urging Biden to ditch Harris ahead of the election.
In a scathing piece published by Slate titled, “If Biden Runs Again, He Should Pick a New VP,” Christina Cauterucci noted how “we are stuck with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris” for now but that Biden may be able to “change that” going into 2024.
“Harris’s presidential campaign will be remembered as one of the worst of that election cycle. Internally, it was a disastrously mismanaged mess. Externally, it offered a series of mixed messages, short-lived slogans, and attempts to backpedal along the ideological spectrum. Her dazzling presence in planned speeches and gotcha moments flickered out when she was forced to think—and relay a coherent policy position—on her feet. It was a spectacular letdown that contained a lesson about electoral politics: candidates who looks promising on paper can easily flounder under pressure,” Cauterucci added.
Cauterucci continued: “As Joe Biden weighs a run for re-election even as he becomes the first octogenarian U.S. president in history, he should think back on what it was like to watch the Harris campaign flame out. A second Biden term would mean even higher stakes for a vice-presidential pick—not only because Biden is older than he was the first time around, but because the VP serving when he leaves could be the de facto frontrunner in the 2024 Democratic primary.
