The speech came at a time when Mr. Biden has scored major policy successes and forged a broad coalition against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but polls show that most Americans are not satisfied with his leadership and even most Democrats would prefer that someone else run for president in 2024. Mr. Biden has among the lowest average second-year approval ratings of any modern president; only Mr. Trump’s second-year average was worse.
Clouding Mr. Biden’s message was a new special counsel investigation into the mishandling of classified documents and the furor over a Chinese spy balloon that crossed American airspace. Republicans have spent the last few days hammering Mr. Biden for perceived weakness, arguing that he should have ordered the military to shoot the balloon down right away rather than waiting until it reached the Atlantic Ocean to avoid possible casualties on the ground.
Mr. Biden skirted around the balloon episode, making no explicit reference to it but alluding to his decision to shoot it down as an example of his determination to stand tough against Beijing when necessary. “Make no mistake about it: As we made clear last week, if China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country,” he said. “And we did.”
Still, foreign policy otherwise barely rated a passing mention in the speech. He tried to cement bipartisan support for his efforts to send tens of billions of dollars in arms and other aid to Ukraine to help it defeat Russian forces, nearly a year after Moscow’s unprovoked invasion. Mr. McCarthy said last fall that if Republicans won there would be no more “blank check” for Ukraine, and while most G.O.P. lawmakers continue to support military aid, polls show rising skepticism among Republican voters.
Mr. Biden introduced Oksana Markarova, the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, who was in the first lady’s box. “We are going to stand with you as long as it takes,” he said.
Others joining Mrs. Biden for the speech included Bono, the singer who has championed AIDS treatment, and Paul Pelosi, the husband of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was attacked in their San Francisco home by a man hunting his wife.
Also there were cancer survivors, business owners, students, a young immigrant seeking legal status, the father of a fentanyl overdose victim, a couple who pushed to legalize same-sex marriage, a Holocaust survivor, an ironworker, a Navy spouse, the man who disarmed a shooter in Monterey Park, Calif., and a woman who encountered trouble in pregnancy but could not be helped because of Texas’ abortion law.
