One administration official said the speech’s importance is not lost on the president’s top advisers — and the president himself.
Advisers grappling with President Joe Biden’s stubbornly low poll numbers and pressure from Democrats to shake up his strategy are planning a far more aggressive approach in coming weeks, with a keen focus on what they see as a high-stakes opportunity and hurdle to clear: the State of the Union address.
One administration official said the speech’s importance is not lost on the president’s top advisers — and the president himself.
“This is probably going to be the most important speech of his presidency and it’s going to set the tone for [this] year,” another administration official said.
The White House is trying to fend off Democratic anxiety about how the incumbent president enters the election year — virtually tied with former President Donald Trump in national polls.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
WASHINGTON — Advisers grappling with President Joe Biden’s stubbornly low poll numbers and pressure from Democrats to shake up his strategy are planning a far more aggressive approach in coming weeks, with a keen focus on what they see as a high-stakes opportunity and hurdle to clear: the State of the Union address.
The campaign feels the speech was successful in commanding significant attention, which they will reinforce with Monday’s address about political violence that Biden will deliver at Mother Emanuel AME Church in South Carolina, the site of a deadly 2015 shooting that targeted Black churchgoers.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will pick up their pace of travel — some campaign, some official — with a particular focus on the early-voting states in the Democratic primary calendar: South Carolina, Nevada and Michigan — the latter two also important general election battlegrounds.
Bruce Reed, the deputy White House chief of staff, has been leading a review process in the administration for weeks focused on identifying policy priorities for this year, an undertaking that will help shape the speech as well.
And he’ll have a chance to continue to highlight bipartisan initiatives under the umbrella of his “Unity Agenda” — enhancing access to mental health services, supporting veterans and combatting fentanyl — where additional progress can be made this year.
Similarly, Biden advisers felt that in his speech near Valley Forge on Friday, some of the best moments were again largely unscripted, as he flashed what they said was genuine anger when veering from prepared remarks that cataloged past Trump comments denigrating veterans and expressing admiration for foreign dictators.
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