‘Very energised’ President Joe Biden to use State of the Union speech as major poll pitch against Trump

President Joe Biden is expected to fire off a “very energised” State of the Union address sharpening his vision for America against that of his likely Republican rival Donald Trump, aiming for a stark election-year contrast that the Democrat leader will be banking on paying dividends in November.

But he’ll also focus on areas that he and White House aides believe broadly unify the country -- an implicit nod to moderate Republicans and swing voters who the president hopes will find a home in his political coalition.

In what’s expected to be his last major pitch to Americans before November’s likely showdown with Mr Trump, Mr Biden will outline his “unity agenda” before a joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and a televised audience at 9pm Thursday, local time (5pm, Friday, AEDT)

The speech is expected to be an explicit appeal to a divided Congress covering broadly popular initiatives, such as dealing with the mental health epidemic, curbing opioid abuse, aiding veterans and improving cancer care, according to White House officials who spoke to The Associated Press. It’ll come under one broad umbrella theme -- that Mr Biden is a president for all Americans.

Excerpts released to The New York Times exposed the stark juxtaposition he will make with the Republican front-runner who he ousted in 2020, while also making references to the other spectre dogging his bid for a second term in the White House - his own advancing age.

“My lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy,” he plans to say in his address.

“To respect everyone. To give everyone a fair shot.

“To give hate no safe harbour.

“Now some other people my age see a different story: an American story of resentment, revenge and retribution. That’s not me.”

The 81-year-old president will use the address to address lingering questions dogging Democrat voters, such as what many feel has been an underwhelming first term after the optimism of 2020’s victory.

It is expected to also reveal how he has learned from the protest vote over his handling of Gaza in Michigan’s Democratic primary vote - he will announce the US military will construct a temporary port on Gaza’s Mediterranean coast to receive humanitarian aid by sea.

It may be the Democratic president’s biggest stage to reach the millions of voters weighing whether to vote for him, choose Republican challenger Mr Trump, or sit out the November 5 election.

Most American voters are not enthusiastic about the rematch after Mr Biden, 81, defeated Mr Trump, 77, four years ago.

However, Mr Biden will be aiming to reverse this voter apathy, by expounding on his administration’s achievements, particularly in the wake of the pandemic and its ensuing economic downturn, according to the prepared remarks seen by The New York TImes.

“It doesn’t make the news, but in thousands of cities and towns the American people are writing the greatest comeback story never told,” he plans to say in the speech.

“So let’s tell that story here and now.”

The age issue

The issue of Mr Biden’s advancing years is expected to be met head on, if quotes from his chief-of-staff Jeff Zients are anything to go by. According to The New York Times, Mr Zients promised “a very energised president”.

Big words given the fact Mr Biden is currently the oldest president to have been elected to office.

The president’s performance will be closely watched for signs of physical or mental weakness. He is expected to speak for at least an hour, reading from a teleprompter.

However, the White House has already promised that Mr Biden is ready for any hecklers, according to CNN, in a warning to Republicans like GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who sparred with the president during last year’s State of the Union address.

Excerpts also hint that Mr Biden will target Mr Trump in veiled references, while still acknowledging his own age. Mr Trump, meanwhile, has simply vowed to respond to the address with comments in real-time in a vague statement on Truth social.

“Joe Biden is on the run from his record ... to escape accountability for the horrific devastation he and his party have created,” Trump said before the speech on his social media platform.

The policies

“Stopping fentanyl at the border, passing privacy legislation to protect children online, keeping our sacred obligation to veterans, and ending cancer as we know it are priorities for everyone without regard to party,” White House deputy chief of staff Bruce Reed told the AP.

In tandem with the State of the Union, the White House will showcase several announcements related to Mr Biden’s unity agenda.

For one, the Department of Veterans Affairs will open up direct enrolment in health care for a broader population of newly eligible veterans. This is being done years ahead of schedule, one White House official said. The officials were granted anonymity to discuss policy details ahead of a formal White House announcement.

Another is an announcement from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, known as ARPA-H, of a clinical program that will focus on addressing late-stage cancers for which doctors often struggle to find treatment. One White House official described it as a data-driven initiative that would allow doctors to track and treat patients in real time with more success.

Some of the unity agenda issues are deeply personal to Mr Biden, including veterans care and advancements in cancer care.

They also fit Biden’s belief that voters want to see bipartisanship and co-operation from politicians, and reflect the issues that are most often raised by the Americans he meets with as he travels the country, officials said. Though tales of legislative gridlock can dominate headlines, the White House points to more than 400 bipartisan bills Mr Biden has signed into law that underpin his unity agenda.

Mr Biden will also vow to protect reproductive rights from Republicans and to lower costs for Americans facing high prices.

He’ll unveil new proposals including higher minimum taxes for companies and Americans with wealth over $100 million.

Any such tax reform is unlikely unless Democrats win strong majorities in both houses of Congress in November, which is not forecast.

Mr Biden is also set to push for new measures to lower housing costs, including a $10,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers, and use his legislative successes on infrastructure and computer chips production to show what is possible if he is given another four years in office.

He is also is expected to try to cool anger among many liberal voters over his support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza following the October 7 Hamas attacks. The president will announce during the speech that the US military will build a port on Gaza’s Mediterranean coast to receive humanitarian assistance by sea, US officials told reporters.

Planning for the operation, initially based on the island of Cyprus, does not envisage the deployment of US military personnel in Gaza, and is moving ahead without waiting for Israel to sign off, the officials told a news briefing.

Support for ending Israel’s Gaza offensive led to nearly a fifth of Minnesota Democratic voters selecting “uncommitted” rather than voting for Biden on Tuesday following a similar vote in Michigan’s Democratic primary last month.

Mr Biden is expected to use the speech to push, again, for a $US95 billion aid package for weapons to Ukraine and aid to Israel that has been blocked by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson.

Those priorities will also be reflected in the president’s guests for the speech, including Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who is in Washington as Sweden formally joins NATO on Thursday, two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Other White House guests include people affected by in vitro fertilisation or abortion restrictions, a veteran of the 1965 Bloody Sunday attack on Black marchers in Selma, Alabama, United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain and others.

The US economy is performing better than most high-income countries, with continued job growth and consumer spending. However, Republican voters tell pollsters they are deeply dissatisfied with the economy, and Americans overall give Trump better marks in polls for economic issues.

“We intend to remind voters of the chaos and lasting damage Trump caused as president,” Mr Biden’s re-election campaign said.

If last year’s State of the Union is any guide, Republicans loyal to Trump who fought most of Biden’s legislative proposals for the past year could provide a raucous audience.

Alabama Senator Katie Britt will head up the response to the State of the Union address, continuing the tradition started 58 years ago by Republican Senator Everett Dirksen and Representative Gerald Ford following President Lyndon B. Johnson’s speech.