Biden Basically Had One Job During the State of the Union—and He Did It
Heading into Thursday night’s State of the Union address, there were a number of topics that informed citizens could have been prepared to keep an eye on. Would Joe Biden successfully reset his administration politically by proposing ambitious subsidies for lower- and middle-class voters who are raising children and trying to buy homes in a post-inflation world? Would Republicans heed Speaker Mike Johnson’s urgings to behave with dignity, or would U.S. politics continue to be dominated by the kinds of people who have been banned from multiple online comment sections? How directly would Biden criticize Israel’s conduct of its war in Gaza?
One question was likely ascendant in many viewers’ minds, though: In light of a special counsel report that criticized Biden’s memory, multiple press conferences in which he botched the names and dead/alive statuses of world leaders, and ongoing voter skepticism, would the president continue to seem very old?
Slate tracked the question in real time, adding and subtracting years of seeming oldness to Biden’s baseline age of 263 as he delivered remarks for a bit over an hour. (Kidding! He’s 81.) Here’s our score card.
? Entrance. Biden’s ability to banter hasn’t waned too much, judging by the reactions of the individuals speaking to him on the aisle of the House chamber. Also, none of them leaned closer to him after making their initial comment as if to repeat it directly into his ear at a much higher volume. –1, running total 80.
? Ascent onto podium. Didn’t tumble backward over a balcony into a horse-drawn cart filled with manure. –1, running total 79.
? Opening. Paused a bit on “In January,” then started talking about the 1940s. This eventually went somewhere—a discussion of the threat war presents to Europe, which was probably the opening topic because it underlines his gravitas vis-à-vis his predecessor. But it was a bit nerve-racking initially, given that “halting reminiscences about the 1940s” are exactly the kind of thing Joe does not want voters associating with him at the moment. +1, running total 80.
? Jovially introducing the prime minister of Sweden, Ulf. What up, Ulf! –2, running total 78.
? “You can’t love your country only when you win.” A good line regarding Jan. 6, and good delivery. –1, running total 77.
? Abortion/IVF. Bungled what was meant to be a rousing, provocatively confrontational passage quoting what the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision said about women’s “electoral power.” (Some of the justices who voted for it were seated in the front row of the chamber.) +1, running total 78.
? Health care. Biden’s discussion of insulin and prescription drug prices was relatively dense with details and writing that called for a soft, solemn delivery, which isn’t the style that works best for him at this point. (He’s better when he’s shouting, basically.) Some of his words ran together, and his hands trembled a bit. (He did punctuate several sections with pauses followed by wry lines that demonstrated engagement with the material.) +1, running total 79.
? “Folks at home, do you really think the tax code is fair?” Biden introduced his call for higher taxes on the rich and corporations with an almost Trumplike We’re all grown-ups here, c’mon approach—i.e., saying one of those things that “everyone” knows is true. He spent a lot of time on the subject, probably again to draw a contrast between himself and Trump, and it segued into a genuinely funny riff about snack companies reducing the amount of food in each bag without changing the price. –2, running total 77, Snickers CEO furious.
? “Killed by an illegal.” Turning his attention to the recent failure of a bipartisan border security bill, Biden was interrupted by Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who appeared to shout something at him about a woman who was recently killed by an undocumented immigrant. In the subsequent exchange, Biden blamed Republicans for preventing the bill’s passage at Trump’s behest—which was fair; that’s what happened—and suggested he was doing more than they were to prevent crime from being committed by “illegals,” a word that’s generally considered a slur among Democrats. (He might have been repeating Greene’s phrasing; either way, it came out of his mouth.) +3, running total 80.
? The coughing. Biden tried to balance his bona fides as a longtime supporter of Israel with a condemnation of the humanitarian disaster its war in Gaza has become, and called on it to return to the goal of a two-state solution; this part of the speech was marked by a lot of coughing. Is this fair? Is it old to cough a lot? Not sure. But it was noticeable. +1, running total 81.
? The rousing conclusion. A little banter with Lindsey Graham and a reference to his age—“I know it may not look like it, but I’ve been around a while”—proceeded into what will (at least initially) be a theme of Biden’s campaign: the idea that, although he might be old, he’s not going to take the country backward with “old ideas” like Trump (purportedly) wants to. Your mileage may vary—some in Slate’s Slack-room discussion felt that he was losing steam—but his conclusion about American greatness and resiliency gave Biden a chance to raise his voice, which as we mentioned seems to be the mode in which he’s most fluid with his words. –1, running total 80.
? Descending the podium. Avoided the manure-cart thing again—good! And when the camera feed cut away to begin broadcasting Alabama Sen. Katie Britt’s response, Biden was still in the chamber glad-handing; if he’s not still there now, he’s probably enjoying a night on the town with the legendary Ulf. –1, running total 79, Ulf likes to party.
The takeaway? Biden did not make a viral memory-loss gaffe or seem confused, and he was animated while talking about the goals and values that, in his mind, contrast him with Trump. But he also is old, and his words tend to run together. Still, what the Washington press corps as a whole seems to have taken away from the evening is that Biden projected energy, coming across as someone who is ready to ramp up a campaign rather than being tired and in decline—or, as our final number of 79 would have it, someone who is very slightly younger than his years. Does the public agree with that take? How much will it ultimately matter? We will all feel a lot older, at the least, before we find out.