State of the Union live updates and analysis: ‘Finish the job,’ Biden expected to say
Written by ABC AUDIO ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on February 7, 2023
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden delivers his second State of the Union address at 9 p.m. ET, marking a pivotal moment as he lays out not only his accomplishments and agenda, but makes the case for his leadership ahead of an expected announcement on whether he’ll run for reelection.
Unlike his first two years in office, Republicans now control the House of Representatives and Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who will sit behind the president for the first time, has threatened to block Biden’s agenda.
ABC News will broadcast special coverage and stream the address on ABC News Live. Partners at FiveThirtyEight will provide analysis in the live blog below during Biden’s speech.
Please check back for updates. All times Eastern.
Feb 07, 4:34 PM EST
Where Biden’s approval rating stands before he addresses the country
Biden is expected to announce within months that he is seeking reelection in 2024, a source previously told ABC News.
As he prepares his next move, FiveThirtyEight’s polling average shows that his approval numbers are slowly ticking up from where they were last fall. On Feb. 7, Biden hit a 43% approval rating in FiveThirtyEight’s average — an increase of 2 points since Nov. 8, the day of the 2022 midterm elections.
This might not seem like a huge increase in the grand scheme of things, but in the current age of strong partisan polarization, any upward trajectory is likely encouraging for Biden ahead of him officially announcing another run.
On the other hand, polling does show that Biden enjoys relatively mild support for another campaign from inside his own party, with only 58% of Democratic primary or caucus voters saying they want Biden to be their nominee in 2024, according to an Emerson College poll released in late January, while 42% said it should be someone else.
That 58% is a 6-point drop from when Emerson asked Democrats the same question in June. But Biden has stronger support among some key demographic groups: According to the poll, 75% of Black Democratic voters and 72% of Hispanic Democratic voters want Biden to be their standard-bearer. White Democrats are more divided, with 51% saying someone besides Biden should be the nominee.
A new ABC News/Washington Post poll found similar concerns among Democrats about Biden being renominated in 2024.
-FiveThirtyEight’s Alex Samuels
Feb 07, 4:22 PM EST
Sarah Huckabee Sanders to cast Biden as unfit in GOP response, her team says
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders will cast Biden as an unfit commander in chief when she delivers the Republican response to his State of the Union address, her team said Tuesday.
Sanders, 40, currently the youngest governor in the country, is expected to talk about a new generation of leadership as she follows an address from the oldest sitting president in American history.
She is expected to say that the choice is no longer between right or left — the choice is between normal or crazy. She is expected to accuse Biden of not defending American borders, skies and people, according to her team.
-ABC News’ John Santucci
Feb 07, 4:00 PM EST
‘Finish the job,’ Biden expected to say
“Finish the job” will be a common refrain in the president’s State of the Union address, according to a White House official.
“This evening during the State of the Union, President Biden will speak directly to the American people and outline the historic progress we have made over the past two years and his agenda for the future,” the official said. “President Biden ran for office for three main reasons: to rebuild the backbone of the country, to unite the country and to restore the soul of the nation. In the State of the Union, he’ll say that we need to finish the job.”
This theme also plays into the groundwork that Biden is laying for a reelection bid.
Biden is also expected to specifically highlight the heroism of Brandon Tsay, who disarmed the Monterey Park shooter, and reference the parents of Tyre Nichols in the audience, as he calls for gun and policing reforms.
-ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Mary Bruce and Molly Nagle
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