President Joe Biden is unofficially on the campaign trail, with his State of the Union address being his unofficial stump speech.
But the points brought up during the SOTU are unlikely to resonate with the audiences in the long term, at least according to experts.
On Tuesday (February 7), when Biden detailed the state the nation is in, his speech had a widely positive reception from viewers.
But experts are questioning its staying power.
Biden’s SOTU speech touched on topics like political unity and the looming debt ceiling, but he homed in on his achievements since taking office and took credit for the improvements to the U.S. economy’s recovery.
He followed that up by detailing his policy goals for the next two years, including beefing up billionaire taxation and corporate stock buybacks.
Biden also seemingly tested a potential catchphrase for his reelection campaign: repeating “finish the job” throughout the speech.
The phrase “finish the job” lends itself to Democrats’ desire to have Biden achieve a second term in the White House, allowing him to build on his legislative accomplishments, like the expansion of the $35 cap on insulin.
Senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, William Galston, wrote in a blog post following the SOTU address that Biden’s speech “signaled an important part of his reelection strategy.” Galson added that the focus of Biden’s speech pointed to the President and his campaign attempting to re-energize support among the working class vote. Galston added that Biden’s speech pointed to the President’s belief that the working class cared more about the economy than culture, a strategy that may not pay off, and Biden would only know which way voters are leaning in November 2024.