Joe Biden Came To Play
And the GOP clown car rolled on.
I’ve seen a lot of State of the Union speeches, but rarely one with so much fire and fight.
That’s precisely what anxious Democrats were relieved and increasingly thrilled to see last night as President Joe Biden’s speech progressed. By all accounts, Biden exceeded expectations and kicked off the head-to-head match against Trump with high energy, stern warnings about his opponent, a compelling statement of his administration’s accomplishments, and a clear vision for the future.
By contrast, the GOP seemed unready for the message Biden rather obviously would be delivering, became unruly despite warnings from leadership to behave, and got outmaneuvered for the second straight year by a man they have derided as ineffective and weak.
Even Donald Trump seemed surprised by Biden’s energy, posting without a trace of irony on Truth Social, “He is so angry and crazy!”
What, no more “Sleepy Joe” taunt? That’s quite the pivot.
Today, and in part because it’s Friday, rather than delve into policy or new White House initiatives announced last night, I want to discuss what mattered the most with Biden’s State of the Union address: optics and expectations.
I’ll focus first on how Biden did, which was in a word stellar, but it bears understanding just how stellar. Then I’ll turn an admittedly jaundiced eye upon the feckless GOP, who apparently still haven’t learned that Dark Brandon is real and will destroy them if they engage.
Finally, because we deserve a good chuckle, I’ll address the bizarre, tone-deaf and decidedly creepy official response by the GOP, delivered by Alabama’s junior senator, Katie Britt, from her kitchen. Because that’s apparently where they think women in Alabama belong?
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Biden overperformed, once again
For years we have been fed negativity from the media and critical anti-Biden thought pieces from the political punditry. Biden will never win the nomination! The Red Wave will crush us! Biden’s not up to the task! He’ll gaffe in front of a national audience, and it will be over!
It’s time to ask a simple question: How many times does Biden have to prove them wrong before we all see the truth? It is this: Biden is a formidable opponent, a skillful and experienced negotiator, and as a campaigner he is quick on his feet, affable and eminently re-electable.
Still, given the prevailing media narrative, Biden went into last night with low expectations from voters. They have been told repeatedly that he’s too old, that he’s feeble and weak, and that he doesn’t have the stamina and determination to lead us for four more years.
But none of that was evident last night. Right out of the gate, he put Republicans on the defensive over Putin and Ukraine, election denialism and reproductive rights—issues I’ve previously argued will wedge and fracture the Republicans. He even called out the Supreme Court to its face over the Dobbs decision.
Biden importantly set down bright lines and drew sharp contrasts with Republicans, especially over the attack on the Capitol on January 6.
Biden laid each of these squarely at the feet of his political opponent without ever calling him by name. He referred to him instead as “my predecessor.”
That’s masterful shade.
But don’t just take my word for it. The New York Times’ Lisa Lerer said post-speech, “The president was energetic, feisty with his Republican opponents and loose.” She added, “I’ve already heard from some Biden allies who are very happy with his performance.”
Lerer wasn’t alone in her praise at the Times. The headlines, which are normally brutal toward Biden, were instead effusive. “In-Your-Face Biden Takes on Trump and His Own Doubters,” read the analysis by Peter Baker, who has covered 23 SOTUs. He added, “In a raucous State of the Union address, the president’s goal was to reassure Americans that at 81 he is ready for a second term. He made his case, loudly and forcefully.”
“This was not Old Man Joe. This was Forceful Joe. This was Angry Joe. This was Loud Joe. This was Game-On Joe,” Baker said.
The praise piled on from other outlets, too. Check out this smattering of takes, compiled by White House spokesperson Ian Sams:
ABC’s Jonathan Karl: This was a very big night for Biden
NBC’s Ryan Nobles: Republicans were sitting on their hands the entire speech, even on things where you’d think they’d agree
CBS’s Robert Costa: You saw him take on corporate America with strong language
It’s time to retire the idea that Joe Biden is too old to bring the fight. He showed us last night that, for the thousandth time, the critics are badly mistaken.
Republicans appeared rudderless and unruly
The other side did not take confrontational “Firebrandon” well.
Speaker Mike Johnson seemed not to know whether to scowl, smile or cry. Instead he sat for an hour with egg on his face, wondering if he should clap for things he normally would—except that Trump didn’t want him to. Nowhere was the profound disdain, followed by a memorable ripping of Trump’s speech, that was former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trademark.
“He smirked. He corrected himself. He sort of rolled his eyes. He looked down. He sighed. He shook his head. He swallowed. He smiled again. He looked amused and patient when he clearly intended to look serious and not pleased at all,” wrote Rebecca Davis O’Brien of the Times in a scathing assessment.
“I am afraid he may have practiced it in front of a mirror,” said presidential historian Douglas Brinkley.
Ouch.
The Speaker had instructed his conference not to jeer or interrupt the speech because that hadn’t gone so well for them last year. Naturally, they didn’t listen. As Biden chastised the GOP for wanting to pass more tax breaks for the wealthy while cutting social security, the Republican side of the aisle erupted in protest.
Biden was ready. In fact, he had once more lured them in. ”Oh, no? You guys don’t want another $2 trillion tax cut?” he responded on the fly, a playful smile on his face. “I kind of thought that’s what your plan was. Well, that’s good to hear.”
Some in the GOP showed up to the speech bent on displaying performative nonsense. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Q-GA) wore a MAGA hat with a slogan on her shirt, in contravention of the House rules on attire and looking more like she was at a Trump rally.
Then there was Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX), a staunch ally of Trump who often says the quiet part out loud (after Trump’s two impeachments, Nehls admitted he wanted to give Trump “a little bit of ammo to fire back” so he could say that Biden, too, had been impeached). He decided to show up like this:
As special correspondent to Vanity Fair and MSNBC, Molly Jong-Fast wryly observed, these are “very serious people part of a very serious political party.”
The horror, the horror
Speaking of very serious people, someone decided that it would be a great idea to have Sen. Katie Britt, the junior senator from Alabama, deliver the official rebuttal to Biden. She was—and I’m being charitable here—awful. Breathy, dramatic and incredibly awkward, she even smiled incongruously as she discussed the terrible plight of American families. Here is a sample clip if you missed this positively weird performance.
Britt saved her most dramatic voice for her story of how a migrant woman she had met had been sex trafficked by cartels and repeatedly sexually assaulted—something she argued shouldn’t happen in a third world country, let alone the United States of America. And yet, as Shannon Watts pointed out, here was Britt encouraging Americans to vote for a rapist.
Rolling Stone took the lead in dismantling Britt:
Her impassioned, breathless speech — delivered at times in an ASMR-esque whisper from what appeared to be her kitchen — ended up feeling more like a rejected audition tape for a supporting role on “Grey’s Anatomy” than the hard-hitting political sparring favored by Biden’s Republican critics.
This wasn’t just the view of the editors at Rolling Stone. GOP political operatives were setting their hair on fire over it.
Into the late hours of the night, Rolling Stone was inundated, sometimes completely unprompted, with messages from longtime GOP operatives, right-leaning pollsters, conservative Capitol Hill staff, MAGA lawyers, and even some senior members of Trump’s own 2024 campaign absolutely torching Britt’s absurdly over-dramatic rebuttal.
“What the hell am I watching right now?” a Trump adviser asked, mid-Britt remarks.
“Creepy,” one of the Republican pollsters noted.
A lawyer working in the Trump orbit says the performance reminded them of public-access television, and a senior House congressional aide remarks that it was “cringe”-inducing to watch and likely destined to be turned into a “lame [Saturday Night Live] skit” this weekend.
Oh please, yes.
The Daily Beast also reported on the fallout from her disastrous performance.
A GOP strategist told The Daily Beast that Britt’s delivery quickly became a gossip item Thursday night among operatives connected to Donald Trump—something that could have potential implications for her consideration as a vice presidential pick on the 2024 ticket.
“Everyone’s fucking losing it,” this Republican said, requesting anonymity to discuss private conversations. “It’s one of our biggest disasters ever.”
I’ll save some of the best material for tomorrow’s weekly roundup (thanks for this gift, Sen. Britt!) But in closing, and to give a sense of how much internet fodder Britt has already unwittingly produced, here is her speech set to the appropriate soundtrack for her particular tone and voice:
Have a great weekend, and keep the faith! After last night, it’s clearer than ever that Joe Biden is on fire, and the GOP is an embarrassing clown show.
Jay
Donald Trump owes me a new irony meter. "He is so angry and crazy" made mine explode.
"GOP political operatives were setting their hair on fire over it."
Please tell me there's video. :-)