The speech was originally going to center primarily on the president’s domestic agenda. But the war in Europe has forced the White House to change gears.
President Biden will use his first State of the Union address on Tuesday to claim credit for a robust economy and a unified global response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, even as he acknowledges the pain of inflation and the struggle between “democracy and autocracy” around the world, administration officials said on Monday. The speech, which has been in the works for months, was originally meant to focus primarily on the president’s domestic agenda, using the rare prime-time platform as a way to jump-start his stalled efforts to pass far-reaching social spending legislation. But the war in Europe that erupted last week has forced the White House to ensure that Mr. Biden’s address “reflects a moment in time,” as Jen Psaki, the press secretary, put it Monday afternoon. She said Mr. Biden will use part of his remarks to describe the administration’s efforts to prevent the Russian invasion and to impose costs on President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. “I think people can expect to hear him position that as the importance of the United States as a leader in the world, of standing up for values, standing up for global norms,” Ms. Psaki told reporters. The president has earned mostly bipartisan support for his efforts to stand up to Mr. Putin. But there has also been some criticism from both parties that Mr. Biden’s team was too slow to impose sanctions on Russia, in part because of a desire to accommodate the concerns of European nations. In response to that criticism, Mr. Biden will describe what Ms. Psaki called “steps he’s taken to build a global coalition imposing crippling financial sanctions” on Russian banks, industries, companies, wealthy oligarchs and Mr. Putin himself. But even as Mr. Biden takes note of the global crisis overseas, aides said his speech will remain focused on the two most critical issues in his presidency: the economy and the coronavirus pandemic. Mr. Biden will deliver his address to a joint session of Congress as the economy continues to recover from the pandemic-induced recession that caused millions to lose their jobs. The president will use the speech to highlight the low unemployment rate, the rapid growth in the country’s gross domestic product and the addition of more than six million jobs since he took office about a year ago.
