Biden Uses SOTU as On-the-Job Interview for a Second Term

Urging voters to reject “resentment, revenge and retribution,” President Joe Biden used his State of the Union address Thursday to make his case for a second term to a dispirited electorate and to warn that GOP front-runner Donald Trump would be a dangerous alternative.

His speech from the House rostrum, delivered just eight months before Biden stands for reelection, was something of an on-the-job interview for the nation's oldest president as he tries to quell voter concerns about his age and job performance while sharpening the contrast with his all-but-certain November rival. Raising his voice, he delivered a broadside against “his predecessor" for not standing by American allies abroad and for embracing antidemocratic ideas in the U.S.

“Freedom and democracy are under attack and both at home and overseas at the very same time,” Biden, as he appealed for Congress to support Ukraine's efforts to defend itself against Russia's invasion. “History is watching.”