Joe Biden’s aides have been working tirelessly to ensure the President’s hour-long speech to Congress today will be gaffe-free.
The President has spent five days preparing for his State of the Union address, which will be televised to millions at home. His team are hoping the speech will allow him to land a number of policy points before his re-election bid in November.
However, the speech also comes with many potential risks for the President, who is facing questions over his ability to serve a second term.
A poll released last month by Ipsos’ Knowledge panel showed 86 per cent of Americans think the 81-year-old is too old to serve another term.
Biden is facing questions over his ability to serve a second term
REUTERS
Last month, Erik Prince, a former Navy Seal said Biden was “clearly mentally unfit” ahead of November’s presidential election and a recent Department of Justice report claimed that Biden has “diminished faculties” and a “poor memory”.
Biden’s aides have been trying to quell doubts that the President is unfit to stand by making sure the 81-year-old is as prepared as can be for the speech.
Biden, who frequently misspeaks and makes blunders in public, has referred to himself as a “gaffe machine”.
Just last week, he mixed up Gaza and Ukraine in an official joint address with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
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Biden's latest gaffe came in a joint address with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
ReutersTeleprompters, throat-soothing tea, and hours of practice have all been deployed in order to help Biden get through the speech without a hiccup.
The Potus spent last weekend at his presidential retreat in Camp David honing the address, which has been drafted to eliminate any DC-focused jargon and to be as accessible as possible.
Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said during a briefing Wednesday: “The President's got this.”
Any errors could add fire to the fuel that Biden is unfit to lead the country for another four years.
A new poll showed that 86 per cent of Americans think Biden is too old, whilst Trump scored better, coming in at 62 per centReutersThe President has also been coached on how to respond to Republican hecklers in the crowd. Last year, he was applauded for his responses to conservatives in the audience, in particular Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Georgia congresswoman.
House Republican Speaker Mike Johnson has asked his lawmakers to behave during the president's remarks and called for "decorum".
Donald Trump, 77, has promised to provide a “LIVE, Play by Play” commentary on his opponent’s speech.
Biden has snapped back at criticism about his age, by arguing that Trump is "as old as I am".
The former President has also made frequent gaffes, including mistaking presidential candidate Nikki Haley for Nancy Pelosi, the former House of Representatives speaker, while discussing the January 6 attack.
Posting on social media, President Biden said: “I don't agree with Nikki Haley on everything, but we agree on this much: She is not Nancy Pelosi.”