Reviews by former speechwriters are available
Former top speechwriters rated President Biden on the content and delivery of his second State of the Union address, giving grades ranging from an “A” to a near-poor “D.”
Biden’s speech focused on his administration’s economic plans and touted his signature infrastructure bill and job growth. He also claimed to want to restore unity and work bipartisanly with Congress. However, Republicans questioned several parts of his speech, most notably the allegation that some Republicans aimed to cut Medicare and Social Security programs.
Hanging over Biden’s speech was the recent launch of a Chinese spy balloon a few days ago, further complicating the already strained US-China relationship.
Biden made a good-faith effort to promote bipartisanship, experts say, but did not respond to the Chinese threat as aggressively as he should have. Many agreed that his speech was a test run for his anticipated 2024 presidential announcement, but felt sluggish and boring at points.
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David Wilezol, former secretary of state Mike Pompeo’s chief speechwriter and president of ghostwriting firm Seventh Floor Strategies, gave Biden a “D.”
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“State of the Union speeches are almost always boring, but rarely has a president said less in more than an hour than Joe Biden did tonight. While replete with a kitchen sink list of so-called achievements that might sell politically, the sleepy speech lacked any memorable lines or displays of political courage,” Wilezol told Fox News Digital.
“Biden advocated the exact routine recipe for improving public education — spending more money in one form or another — that has failed American students for decades. If Biden was serious about showing leadership, he would be capitalizing on the growing bipartisan support for school choice rather than regurgitating the talking points of teachers’ unions,” Wilezol said.
“He would also be brave to tell the American people the truth about the sacrifices that will be necessary to properly counter Chinese aggression, rather than pretending to be tough on President Xi. Americans were instead exposed to a preview of his presidential campaign that will be memorable to exactly nobody.”
David Litt, a senior speechwriter for former President Obama, said Biden deserved a solid “A” for his speech.
“I doubt the most MAGA-leaning politicians – many of whom were watching at home after losing in the midterm elections – will find much liking in this speech. But moderate and independent voters were the ones that gave Democrats big wins in November, and SOTU was for them,” Litt told Fox News Digital.
“President Biden received bipartisan applause for some of his biggest economic and national security feats, like building new roads and bridges and rebuilding America’s semiconductor industry to compete with China now promised not to cut Medicare or Social Security, and the White House in every hostage situation.” to give the upper hand early on with a debt ceiling,” he continued.
“Finally, just weeks after Republicans struggled through a publicly embarrassing, tantrum-filled series of votes for speaker, Joe Biden was the quintessential adult in the room. He looked like a president. He made GOP heckles look stupid. Beginning to end, the Commander-in-Chief was in charge.”
“One of Biden’s favorite phrases is, ‘No one has ever made money betting against the United States.’ If he continues to dominate the national stage like this, I wouldn’t bet against President Biden either,” Litt concluded.
dr Jonathan Bronitsky, former chief speechwriter for Attorney General Bill Barr and co-founder of DC-based public relations firm and literary agency ATHOS, gave Biden a “C+” grade and said his performance did not inspire confidence but encouraged some bipartisan ideas.
He said Biden specifically omitted his earlier references to “MAGA Republicans,” which he says is evidence that the president “discovered that demonizing half the citizens doesn’t do anything to bring people together.”
Bronitsky said the first section of the speech, which focused on support for “American working class,” was nonpartisan, and while it rang the same bell as former President Trump’s “forgotten husband and wife” remarks, he also indicated, that the government is aware that “his eager enthusiasm for wakefulness and other weirdness is alienating large sections of the American public that it takes to win a national election.”
Bronitsky explained that since Biden is “essentially scoreless” in terms of achievements, he is mostly looking to the future and ignoring everyday issues that plague Americans.
He also pointed to inconsistencies throughout, including praising capitalism while proposing drastic cuts to free markets by beefing up government, as well as false claims like the Republican plan to end Medicare and Social Security.
“At the same time, it fostered ideas supported from both sides of the aisle, like supporting law enforcement and fighting Big Tech’s collection of personal data. Yet, for the most part, actual policy proposals go in only one direction: hard left.”
Regarding the delivery, Bronitsky said it sounded like Biden was “going through the motions.”
“It takes tremendous energy and mental acuity to run for the presidency, arguably the most demanding job in the world. In that regard, Biden’s performance was as confidence-inspiring as a pilot who has just thrown back a bottle of tequila,” he concluded.
BIDEN BURST FROM NEGATIVE APPROVAL RATINGS AHEAD OF UNION SECOND STATE SPEECH
Rob Noel, president of the Washington Writers Network writing agency and former speechwriter for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, gave Biden a “C+” rating.
“He said the right words about impartiality and compared to previous performances his speech seemed genuine and energetic. But the rhetoric was a total rewrite,” Noel explained.
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“It was full of familiar platitudes – ‘bottom up and middle out’, ‘pay your fair share’ – and lacked a strong sense of language. Presidents Obama and Trump gave SOTU addresses unique to them that only they could have supplied. President Biden’s is like mediocre pop music: sometimes catchy, but mostly formulaic and unforgettable,” concluded Noel.
