Can gaffe-prone Biden, 81, avoid flubs, freezes, falls, teleprompter slip-ups and booing Republicans to prove he IS fit for a second term in the most consequential State of the Union of his career…in front of the millions deciding between him and Trump

President Joe Biden has spent the past five days preparing for his State of the Union address, trying to discuss all the options: tea to keep his throat smooth, a printout of his remarks — in giant letters — in case the teleprompter going out, and hours of practice sessions.

But the fear among aides is that all the preparations could be overshadowed by the unexpected: troublemakers in the form of Republican lawmakers, a presidential freeze during the remarks, or, in the worst-case scenario, Biden stumbling as he walks down the aisle of the House of Representatives. the House is running.

That would reignite all questions about the 81-year-old’s suitability for office. And it would happen in front of millions of television viewers who are deciding whether to support Biden or his rival Donald Trump in the 2024 election.

His staff exudes confidence.

“The president has this,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during her news conference Wednesday.

The State of the Union address takes place in the shadow of the presidential race. The two nominees have been announced. Voters know who their choice is. And Trump will comment on his opponent’s comments at his Truth Social Thursday evening.

Biden’s reelection team is aware that the prime-time State of the Union address will provide the incumbent president with a huge platform to make his case for a second term.

They mainly target undecided voters and supporters of Nikki Haley, who left the Republican primaries on Wednesday. Exit polls showed that many voters who chose Haley were actually voting for someone other than Trump.

That gives Biden’s re-election campaign hope that they can win over those voters.

What they should be aware of Thursday night, however, is that many voters will not see the entire State of the Union address, but will see snippets. And that could magnify a big Biden line or a huge stumble.

“For the most part, voters don’t watch full speeches, they watch excerpts,” said Timothy Naftali, a clinical associate professor at Columbia University.

“In this TikTok world, people are actually going to watch segments and clips,” he noted.

Now that the new mantra for the staff is to “Let Joe be Joe,” “Joe” sometimes means the president mixing up the names of world leaders, inserting random off-topic ad libs, and giving snappy responses to things that he doesn’t like.

President Biden reads the text of his 2024 State of the Union address in this photo posted by the White House

Donald Trump said he will provide commentary on his Truth Social account during Biden’s speech

The pressure will be on Thursday evening and not just because of the presidential election in November.

The speech will take place in the House chamber on Capitol Hill and the audience will be filled with Republican lawmakers loyal to Trump.

And it can get noisy.

The White House points out how well Biden handled himself during last year’s speech, when he quickly clapped back as Republicans jeered him for his claim that they wanted to cut Social Security and Medicare.

As Republican lawmakers began heckling him, Biden quickly pivoted and said, “As we apparently all agree, Social Security and Medicare are now off the books.”

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson even asked lawmakers to rein in the issue during the president’s remarks.

Johnson called for “decorum” toward the president during a closed-door GOP conference on Wednesday, Axios reported.

Overall, the White House’s goal is: to portray Biden, 81, as energetic enough to do the job and turn questions about his age into an argument for his experience.

“He has one that counters the old man stereotype that Trump uses to criticize him and to get his own people, especially young people who have real doubts about him, to vote,” Naftali said.

Aides have long tried to counter perceptions about the president’s age. Biden often uses the bottom stairs to board Air Force One, which has fewer stairs. He tripped on the grand stairs twice.

When he travels, he wears sneakers, more stable footwear than his loafers. He prefers black Hokas.

He even wore them to an event at the White House on Tuesday, a rare appearance because he usually wears dress shoes in the complex. He probably hadn’t gotten out since traveling from Camp David on Marine One earlier in the day.

His workout routine includes exercises to help his balance and his stiff gait.

Biden aides hope the president avoids major blunders and falls — as he did above in June 2023 at the Air Force Academy graduation ceremony

Biden’s 2023 State of the Union address, where he was heckled by Republicans

The president is locked down with aides working on the speech, which will reiterate his past achievements, lay out his agenda for the year and attack Trump a few times.

He had no public events scheduled for Wednesday.

And he spent the weekend at Camp David, working on his remarks with his senior staff: White House Deputy Chief of Staff Bruce Reed, longtime aide Mike Donilon, communications adviser Anita Dunn, Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, adviser Steve Ricchetti and speechwriter . Vinay Reddy.

During the preparation sessions, Biden goes through the text, highlighting words and creating pauses to remind himself to navigate the stutter he has had since childhood, the New York Times reported.

He will cut off passages where he doesn’t feel like reflecting his voice.

He will discuss a variety of topics: the economy, taxes, reproductive rights, China, trade, immigration, the war between Israel and Hamas and the fighting in Ukraine.

Reproductive health care “will be a key part of his remarks,” a senior administration official told reporters on a briefing call on Wednesday. “He will focus on putting Americans’ freedoms at risk.”

Democrats are using the abortion issue to shore up their base after it was a successful rallying cry for the party in the 2022 midterm elections, where their candidates performed better than expected, thanks in large part to abortion rights issues on the ballot.

The president will also present a vision for the country that presents the stark choices facing the US. It will be the driving theme of Biden’s third State of the Union address, his advisers said. NBC News.

In his remarks, Biden will ask Americans if that’s what they want lower healthcare costs, democratic freedoms and preventing Ukraine from being swallowed up by Russian leader Vladimir Putin? Or do they want to side with drug company profits, tax breaks for the rich and Putin?

The underlying argument will be that Biden is on the right side of these issues, unlike Trump.

Biden will edit his remarks until he delivers them. A photo of the president posted by the White House on his social media accounts showed him holding a folder with the text, with the large font making his opening welcome easy to read.

After the president’s speech, he and his team will spread across the country to amplify their message.

Biden goes to Pennsylvania and Georgia. Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Arizona and Nevada. Other Cabinet officials will travel to other swing states, including Colorado, Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina and Tennessee.