President Joe Biden delivered a fiery State of the Union address on Thursday evening, packed with jabs at Donald Trump while fiercely defending his policies.
The 81-year-old president came out of the gate extremely agitated, swinging hard at his former top political president Donald Trump, calling him a “threat to democracy.”
He spent time touting his signature economic agenda and hammering Republicans for opposing his agenda, with whom he made direct contact after taunts and boos.
And he didn’t shy away from berating the Supreme Court to their faces for overturning Roe v. Wade, telling them “with all due respect that women are not without power.”
Biden called on Congress to pass a comprehensive immigration package and aid to Ukraine and Israel, saying humanitarian aid should not be a “bargaining chip.”
He also seemed to allay concerns about his age and mental acuity with the speech which was powerful and didn’t contain many of his classic whispers or strange sidebars.
Notable speechwriters from various administrations shared their assessments of Biden’s critical performance with DailyMail.com as he heads into the 2024 election.
President Joe Biden delivered a fiery State of the Union address on Thursday evening
He spent time touting his signature economic agenda and hammering Republicans for opposing his agenda
David Wilezol: ‘He screamed his way through it’
Former chief speechwriter for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo David Wilezol said Biden “more or less” achieved his goal tonight.
Going into the speech, speculation was mounting about whether he could overcome voters’ concerns about his old age.
“He shouted his way through the speech to show voters concerned about his age that he is still mentally fit to be president.”
But despite a “couple of verbal stumbles,” Biden has “more or less achieved his goal,” said Wilezol, the founder and president of the ghostwriting and speechwriting company Seventh Floor Strategies.
Substantively, Biden used his first fifteen minutes, which Wilezol calls “an important window for communication with ordinary viewers,” to portray himself as a “champion of Ukraine and abortion.”
Wilezol called it a bit out of touch with what Americans care about most — inflation and border security — showing he’s afraid of hemorrhaging the upper-middle-class voters he needs to win.
David Litt: ‘Really very brave’
David Litt, President Obama’s top speechwriter, praised Biden for coming out swinging at the start of his speech.
“POTUS came out swinging a lot harder than I thought, I think it was smart,” he wrote on X.
Litt explained that Biden’s attempt to “put his age in the context of history and timeless values” was “really, very gusty.”
‘If he hadn’t made it to the first hour plus, it could have sunk him. He did it masterfully.’
He went on to say that Joe Biden “should receive great credit for his performance tonight.”
Biden called on Congress to pass a comprehensive immigration package and aid to Ukraine and Israel, saying humanitarian aid should not be a “bargaining chip.”
Jonathan Bronitsky: ‘Burst of vitality not seen for months’
Bronitsky, former chief speechwriter for Attorney General Bill Barr and co-founder and CEO of ATHOS, told DailyMail.com that Biden’s speech was off the charts but was enough to briefly calm fears about his age.
He said opening with support for Ukraine proved his government is out of touch because voters’ main issues – immigration and the economy – came much later.
Despite ‘a bit of coughing, a lot of whining and some bizarre mistakes.’ The president defied expectations.
Biden delivered his speech with a “torrent of shouting, a defiant tone and even a few flashes of humor,” which was a sign of strength at 10, Bronitsky added.
On that basis, he “probably did enough to reverse the fear of his age within his own party…at least for a few more days until his next verbal fiasco or explosive mental fart.”
Bronitsky added that he had achieved his staff’s goal of not appearing older than Gandalf.
And as a result, it was “probably” his best State of the Union address because of his “sustained burst of vitality that he hadn’t seen in months.”
Biden didn’t shy away from berating the Supreme Court to their faces for overturning Roe v. Wade, telling them ‘with all due respect that women are not without power’
Biden responds while looking at U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene
Rusty Hills: ‘Taunts and critics gave him energy’
Rusty Hills, a former speechwriter for former Michigan Gov. John Engler, said his speech resembled a “State of the Campaign” speech.
“No State of the Union address has ever been so political,” he told DailyMail.com.
“No State of the Union address has ever referenced a president’s opponent more than this speech—at least a dozen times or more.”
Despite this, he agreed that Biden successfully delivered a “powerful, powerful, combative speech.”
He added that it was a bit too long with too many “laundry list items.”
“But Biden was engaged and he successfully countered his Republican critics. The taunts and criticism actually seemed to energize him. That was when Biden was at his best,” he said.
Although it will not go down in history, the speech served its purpose, he added.