I predicted that as long as Joe Biden didn't drop dead during his final State of the Union address, the liberal media would gush over how great it was. But as someone who suffered through the entire thing, I know it was far from great. I guess someone in the White House told Biden that the angry old man vibe was a good idea, and that's what he went with. It was bizarre to watch Biden give what was perhaps the most partisan State of the Union address in history and then, at the end, have the audacity to claim he "will always be a president for all Americans."
But even the liberal media couldn't deny the problems with the speech.
Of course, the bulk of the liberal media's reactions were the expected gushing praise.
"This seemed to me to be a speech designed first and foremost to show that Joe Biden has the stamina and the fire in the belly to go another four years," observed CBS White House Correspondent Nancy Cordes. "It was designed to be delivered with high energy.
"His presentation, his enunciation, of course, is not as clear as it once was a decade or two ago. His mind did seem fairly sharp," observed CNN's Jake Tapper.
"Fairly sharp" is hardly a glowing endorsement, particularly from Jake Tapper. He also noticed that Joe Biden completely botched Laken Riley's name.
"He had ad-libbed a response to a pretty harsh moment—at some heckling about the tragic murder of UGA student Laken Riley—he got her name... wrong," Tapper continued. "He called her 'Lincoln Riley' but, as a general note, he condemned her murder, which was something that people were talking about."
CNN's Jake Tapper: "His presentation, his enunciation, of course, is not as clear as it once was..." pic.twitter.com/DW9CdzFuMv
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 8, 2024
Others noticed how partisan the speech was.
"This is the 36th of these for me—State of the Unions or presidential addresses at the beginning—the first one being 1989," CNN's John King said. "Never heard one so political, never heard one that is such a campaign speech."
CNN's John King: "This is the 36th of these for me ... Never heard one so political. Never heard one that is such a campaign speech." pic.twitter.com/C7g8bg6zo9
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 8, 2024
Even Lawrence O’Donnell of MSNBC was blindsided by the incredibly partisan speech, during which Biden attacked the Supreme Court to their faces.
"That’s never been done before. To the extent that a president has a disagreement with the Supreme Court expressed in the State of the Union address, they always try to find the most polite possible language for doing that," he said. "This was not the night for that. So that was just astonishing."
Former Obama advisor David Axelrod said that while he thinks some of Biden's points may have resonated, he doesn't think the attacks "all landed."
"They may have landed well in that room, for sure, and they landed well with base voters, for sure," Axelrod explained, "I'm not sure [with] those swing voters—that they landed as well. [...] I also, by the way, think that what probably doesn't land well," Axelrod continued, "is his proclamation that our economy is the envy of the world and that, you know, we've, you know, inflation [...] is under control."
CNN: Biden's State of the Union was "like an old guy screaming to kids, 'GET OFF MY LAWN.'" pic.twitter.com/DYMUOMSvdr
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 8, 2024
Still, the largely adoring media did everything they could to push the narrative that this was a good speech and a great night for Biden. But it's obvious that they also heard the mumbling, the slurring, and the awkward pause before he botched Laken Riley's name, which we all saw. They all know it wasn't a solid performance, but they are hoping they can shape public opinion about it anyway. Occasionally, the truth slips out, and even those who have nothing but good things to say make it clear that they know that Biden's trying to assuage concerns about his age and cognitive decline and are trying to help him.
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