Biden’s leadership on Russia is a bright spot in a gloomy State of the Union
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U.S. President Joe Biden gives remarks about the administration’s efforts to lower healthcare costs, during his visit to Germanna Community College (Culpepper), Virginia, U.S.A. February 10, 2022.
Leah Millis | Reuters
WASHINGTON — The united global response of Russia to Ukraine’s aggression will dominate Tuesday’s State of the Union speech by President Joe Biden.
According to White House officials, Biden spent many months working on his economic agenda section of the speech. They said that the results are a compelling case for Biden to speak about how the U.S. has performed in the past year.
By contrast, aides had just days to pull together his comments on Russia and Ukraine — a war that is changing by the minute.
A presidential address on the national economic recovery and future domestic policy would resonate more with American voters than any speech on a war that has raged thousands of kilometers away.
However, this year’s is different.
Voters are still not seeing the economic recovery
Biden will speak to an electorate that, according to polls, feels disconnected from economic recovery Biden has overseen during his first year of office.
It is clear that the U.S. economic has experienced the greatest job growth and fastest economic growth for nearly 40 years since Biden assumed office in January.
Washington Post ABC pollAccording to a survey released last week, 75% believed that the economy was either in “poor” (or “not so great”) shape.
This disconnection is not new. For months, Biden has insisted — and the numbers have shown — that America is undergoing a period of historic economic growth.
However, this message has not resonated with voters. A majority feel disillusioned at the high rate of inflation and pessimistic about economic prospects.
According to a White House official, Biden will address these concerns on Tuesday. However, he won’t be revealing any innovative solutions to the problem.
Biden instead will “call upon Congress” for passage of various components of his “Build back Better” bill but not mention the doomed bill directly.
Biden’s hopes of passing the one-in-a generation social safety net expansion came to an abrupt halt last year when West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin raised concerns about rising inflation. Manchin stated that he had pulled his support from the bill because of rising inflation after the House passed it.
According to a White House factsheet, Biden will “call upon Congress” at minimum 10 times in Tuesday’s address for various proposals to be passed. These include increased funding for Pell grants, a $15 minimum income and paid family leave.
However, Biden’s use of public pressure to the Democratically Controlled Senate and House to get them to act only highlights the obstacles Biden has to enact his legislative agenda.
A decisive response
Although Biden appears mired in internal party squabbles regarding his domestic policy agenda, the story is very different in Ukraine, 6,000 miles away.
On Ukraine, Biden and his foreign policy team are leading the rest of the world, revitalizing the NATO alliance and stepping up to the challenge that Putin poses to the rules-based international order — one that has maintained relative peace in Europe for nearly 80 years.
Russian forces surrounded Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital on Tuesday morning. Further to the east, Russian troops shelled Kharkiv’s public square, Ukraine’s second-largest city. This massacre killed hundreds.
As a result of the invasion, an alliance of many large and small democracies all over the world have gathered together to place severe restrictions upon Russia’s central banking and to sanction its richest citizens, airlines, and state-run media.
It is hoped that the Kremlin will be forced to pay an economic high price for choosing to launch a war.
This coalition includes G-7 member countries and NATO allies as well as developing countries like Ghana. The United States has been at the forefront, along with Biden.
Jen Psaki, White House Press Secretary, said that Biden would “discuss the steps taken not only to support the Ukrainian people through military and economic aid but also to create a global alliance to impose crippling financial sanctions against President Obama.” [Vladimir]Putin, his Inner Circle and Russia’s Economy
Biden will also address “the importance of the United States as a leader in the world — standing up for values and standing up for global norms” she told reporters Monday.
Biden held several leader-to-leader meetings with NATO and the United States allies in order to coordinate U.S. support of Ukraine and Russian sanctions.
Also, thousands of U.S. personnel were deployed to support the NATO member countries that are most at risk from Russia.
Biden’s secretaries for state and defense requested additional weapons for the Ukrainian army and aid refugees fleeing war zones.
Both Democrats and Republicans have praised Biden’s combined U.S. diplomatic, military, and humanitarian response.
Bill Kristol, a conservative intellectual, tweeted Monday that President Biden had shown “truly impressive” leadership during the Ukraine crisis.
Even more, polls suggest that Americans support Ukraine and are opposed to Russia’s invasion.
Biden is not likely to be backed by Republican voters. This is despite being the Republican President. Donald Trump,Putin’s ardent supporters and defenders were so many.
Biden will give the annual speech at Congress’s two chambers. He will also address several Supreme Court justices as well as his Cabinet at Capitol at 9:00 PM.
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