Grappling with negative approval ratings and trailing former President Trump in the latest polling average of their general election rematch, President Biden has a golden opportunity to try and turn the narrative around with eight months to go until the November showdown.<\/p>\n
That high-stakes primetime moment comes Thursday evening, when the president will deliver a greatly anticipated and closely watched State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress.<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s going to be a moment that\u2019s incredibly important to him,\u2019 White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Tuesday. \u2018He\u2019s looking forward to \u2026 talking about the accomplishments that he\u2019s made the last three years and also the vision that he has for this country.\u2019<\/p>\n
With it far from certain that the president and Trump will face off in general election debates in the autumn, the speech may deliver Biden his largest national audience between now and the November election.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not clear whether Biden will directly mention his Republican challenger in an address that will be repeatedly edited and fine-tuned until the moment the president arrives on Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n
But Biden re-election campaign communications director Michael Tyler, pointing to the rematch with Trump, emphasized Tuesday that \u2018I think the State of the Union Address is going to serve as another moment to further cement the choice in this election for the American electorate writ large.\u2019<\/p>\n
At 81, Biden is the oldest president in the nation\u2019s history. And polls indicate a majority of Americans harbor serious questions about his physical and mental ability to handle another four years in the White House.<\/p>\n
Longtime Republican strategist Colin Reed, pointing to \u2018a series of misguided decisions,\u2019 including \u2018the decision [by the president] not to conduct a Super Bowl interview when you\u2019ve got the largest built-in audience you\u2019re ever going to get, the pressure is mounting on President Biden to demonstrate that voters\u2019 concerns about his age are somehow not as bad as people think.<\/p>\n
\u2018The stakes are high going into a speech which normally washes out in the next day\u2019s news cycle,\u2019 Reed emphasized. \u2018But because people view President Biden as this creaky, rickety, frail human being and voters have deep concerns and reservations (about his ability) to perform the job, this event has taken on heightened importance that otherwise would not exist.\u2019<\/p>\n
Reed is a presidential campaign veteran who most recently was a top adviser to a super PAC supporting former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie\u2019s 2024 nomination challenge against Trump.<\/p>\n
\u2018My suspicion is [Biden] will take it on because he can\u2019t avoid it,\u2019 Reed said. \u2018It\u2019s become the overriding factor in the conversation.\u2019<\/p>\n