How Biden riffed on the economy during a fiery State of the Union
'I’m going to get in trouble for saying that,' Biden said in one of many departures from his own script during Thursday night's address
President Biden departed from his own script numerous times during Thursday night's State of the Union address to talk about economic issues.
He blasted big banks for credit card fees. He inserted a real-world example of "shrinkflation." He teased GOP colleagues about infrastructure money headed to their districts.
Perhaps most importantly, from the White House's perspective, the president's repeated additions to his prepared remarks gave him an opportunity to provoke the Republicans seated before him.
Many of the initial reviews of Biden's intense performance have been positive, but Biden being Biden, it wasn’t always smooth sailing.
"I’m going to get in trouble for saying that," he said at one point while offering an aside on prescription drug prices. He then accidentally suggested a striking image of the president flying seniors on Air Force One to Toronto and Berlin — as well as Moscow — in order to obtain cheaper medications.
"Well, even Moscow probably," he added, undeterred, "and bring your prescription with you, and I promise I’ll get it to you for 40% of the cost you are paying now."
Whether the combative tone helps with his sagging poll numbers remains to be seen.
But the asides underlined how important the economy is to Biden’s message as he prepares to take on former President Trump in the November election and his willingness to mix it up in an unscripted back and forth after weeks of debate about his age and vitality.
He has used this tactic before. One year ago, a similar ad-lib on Social Security during last year’s address provoked loud GOP jeering and was seen as a successful gambit by Biden's aides and many political observers.
A range of asides
During this year's speech, as part of a section devoted to the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Biden looked away from the teleprompter to tease Republicans who voted no but touted the incoming money anyway.
"I noticed some of you who have strongly voted against it are strongly cheering on that money," he told the audience, eliciting a mix of cheers and boos.
"I like it, I’m with you," he added with a grin, joking, "If any of you don’t want that money in your districts, let me know" before returning to his prepared remarks.
Other times Biden seemed to use the asides to burnish his moderate credentials and ties to the business community.
He went out of his way — as he often does — to mention that his home state of Delaware is where many large companies are incorporated to argue he's not the enemy of the business community. Left unmentioned was Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk’s recent issues with incorporating in Delaware and his recent move of SpaceX’s paperwork to Texas.
During a discussion of education, Biden paused to recount a meeting with the Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs based in Washington. "I asked them what they need most. The CEOs ... they say a better-educated workforce," he said.
He also offered ad-libbed comments on other financial issues, from the national debt to executive pay to so-called junk fees.
“That’s why the banks are so mad, it’s $20 billion in profits,” he said to punctuate one of his proposals around cutting credit card costs.
Read more: What are bank fees, and how do I avoid them?
Perhaps the most striking aside came on the non-economic topic of immigration when — under loud heckling from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia — Biden held up a pin showing a murdered nursing student named Laken Riley, who was allegedly killed by an undocumented immigrant.
The pin was one that Republicans themselves had brought to the event, with Biden saying, "To her parents, I say, my heart goes out to you having lost children myself, I understand." Biden also used the term "an illegal" in those comments. That’s a term most Democrats avoid saying and one that drew immediate criticism from immigrant advocates.
For their part, Republicans criticized Biden's free-wheeling address for being too political, especially after Biden opened the speech with a focus on democracy both in Ukraine as well as closer to home.
"Not since President Lincoln and the Civil War have freedom and democracy been under assault here at home as they are today," Biden said at one point.
Biden was also squarely focused on Trump, who he will face on the ballot this fall. Biden mentioned him as "my predecessor" at least 13 times. He also sought to blunt concerns over his age by contrasting himself with what he described as Trump’s "old ideas."
Trump himself offered an array of reactions online, including on some of those ad-libs.
"Biden talked about the SNICKERS Bars, before he talked about the Border!" Trump posted during the speech. It was a reference to an aside from Biden on "shrinkflation" and the decreasing size but persistent cost of the popular candy bar.
And before the night was done, Biden had one last aside to offer on — what else — Social Security.
GOP leaders have said that most Republicans don’t support ideas to trim the social safety net program for seniors, but Biden again charged Thursday night — in nearly identical terms as last year — that Republicans as a party want to cut the program in order to give tax breaks to the wealthy.
When the boos predictably followed, Biden feigned surprise. "I kind of thought that was what your plan was," he said. "Well, that’s good to hear."
Ben Werschkul is Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.
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