The veneer of bipartisan civility didn’t last long during Joe Biden’s second State of the Union address tonight — and that was fine with the president and Democrats.
Less than an hour after Biden’s address to members of the House and Senate, it all turned into a talking contest after POTUS accused some Republicans of wanting “Medicare and Social Security by sunset.” To a cavalcade of boos and a potential national debt burden, the Democrat added: “I’m not saying it’s a majority. If you doubt it, contact my office — I’ll give you a copy of the proposal.
At this point, while Rep. As Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) shouted “liar” at the President from the back of the room, the President’s annual remarks seemed to descend into chaos and insults again. “I’m not politely calling her, but some of you suggested it,” added the brazenly combative Biden as Vice President Kamala Harris and a shaking GOP spokesman Kevin McCarthy sat behind him.
During last year’s midterm elections, Rick Scott, Florida’s junior senator and GOP Senate campaign chairman, came up with the idea of anchoring a vote every five years on nearly all federal programs, including Social Security and Medicare.
Although the plan was opposed by GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the plan became a no-brainer for Republicans, who have dramatically underperformed in elections later this year. Often cited by Biden, Harris and other Democrats in the second half of the midterms, the Sunset proposal and the fear it inspires in many older Americans gave POTUS a near-perfect political tool to put Republicans on the defensive Tuesday — and they delivered.
However, with the Republican breakout, Biden was once again blessed by his enemies.
With reports that McCarthy, who needed 15 votes in the House of Representatives to win his job amid a slim GOP majority, chastised his fellow Republicans for being on their best behavior tonight, the shouting and mockery empowers Biden to file the exchange. favor. . POTUS’ insult cast a televised spotlight on the GOP’s unspoken goals, with millions of Americans tuning in on cable, television and online.
Abandoning his prepared remarks, Biden openly sparred with the critics in front of him, chiding Republicans and flipping their script. “As we all seem to agree, Social Security and Medicare are now off the books,” POTUS gleefully said after Republicans roared “You lie, you lie” and shook their heads. “We have unanimity.”
McCarthy repeatedly tried to silence his caucus members – with little success.
“If somebody tries to cut Social Security, which nobody seems to be doing, and if somebody tries to cut Medicare, I will stop them,” Biden said, poking at the GOP’s budget rules.
Speaker McCarthy may have spent most of today’s SOTU in his seat, but he knew he couldn’t continue with the cameras on him and Biden’s allegations on the table.
“Let’s stand up for seniors,” Biden added as McCarthy, MTG and many Republicans stood up in a bipartisan protest. “Apparently that won’t be a problem,” the re-election contender POTUS continued with a winning smile on his face – at least for this round.
Given that this is the deeply divided government, with the MAGA-dominated GOP leading the House and Democrats running the White House and Senate, there was naturally more verbal flare in the hour-long speech as Biden tackled the issues of abortion rights and the deadly scourge of the synthetic opioid fentanyl.
In what was once quite a pagan affair, SOTU started getting ugly over a decade ago and has never looked back.
In 2009, Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) a “You lie!” with President Barack Obama when the 44th POTUS insisted that his then-proposed health plan would not cover undocumented immigrants. Although Wilson apologized and was censored, the annual address to Congress and the American people has since seen opposition parties boo Obama, Donald Trump and Biden. At last year’s SOTU, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), who tonight shook her head at Biden’s comments on the budget fight, called out to POTUS that American soldiers had died under his watch at the time. Boebert and Taylor Greene later “Build the wall!” while Biden discussed his immigration proposals.
That night, Biden didn’t seem to enjoy the scorn as much as tonight, but he clearly didn’t call the bait in 2021 and GOP members didn’t take it.
Source: Deadline
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
