CNN’s Jake Tapper praised President Joe Biden for overcoming his “challenges” during his first State of the Union address on Tuesday.
“I have to say, considering his speaking talents and challenges, it was a fairly solid performance,” Tapper said. “Every president has to say, ‘The state of the union is strong,’ even when that does not necessarily feel strong. There are a lot of hurting people out there, but that is quintessential Biden, and he saved it for the end, ‘The state of the union is strong because you, the American people, are strong’ — very Biden.”
Since his days in the Senate, Biden has faced criticism for various gaffes during his speeches. Political opponents of Biden such as Ronny Jackson, the White House doctor for his predecessor, have insinuated that Biden has dementia, referencing remarks Biden has given in which he appears to trail off. Just before the 2020 election, Tapper criticized Lara Trump for mocking Biden’s history of a stutter.
“You have absolutely no standing to diagnose somebody’s cognitive decline,” he told her.
Biden delivered his address to a joint session of Congress against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The president began his speech with fierce criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He declared that “freedom will triumph over tyranny” and touted U.S. support for Ukraine, such as bruising sanctions against Russian oligarchs and a ban on flights from Russia to the United States. The president vowed that U.S. troops would not participate in the conflict.
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Several CNN analysts, such as Fareed Zakaria, David Axelrod, and Scott Jennings, appeared to want more from Biden on the crisis in Ukraine. Biden’s remarks on Russia’s bloody assault drew bipartisan applause from members of Congress in the House chamber. But Biden had to juggle multiple crises the U.S. was facing, including surging inflation and the COVID-19 pandemic. He also touted his major accomplishments in office, such as the bipartisan infrastructure deal, as his party gears up for the midterm election cycle while Biden is sagging in the polls.
“The one area where I would have loved to see more was just how important it is that the world not allow Vladimir Putin to get away with this grotesque violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty,” Zakaria said.
