What Biden’s State of the Union Speech Was For

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President Joe Biden sought to repair Americans’ faith in his leadership with a forceful State of the Union address last night that portrayed him as a resolute champion of financially squeezed families at home and freedom abroad. …

The speech was the performance of a president who remains confident in his political compass, even as the steep and persistent decline in his job-approval ratings since last summer has caused many people in both parties to question it. …

Few presidents have come into a State of the Union address needing a second wind as badly as Biden did last night. A flurry of national polls released just before the speech showed his job-approval rating sinking to 40 percent or lower, the equivalent of a blinking red light on a car dashboard. … Perhaps most ominous for Biden, the recent Suffolk, ABC/Washington Post, and Fox polls all found that only about one-third of Americans now view him as a strong leader, with about three-fifths rejecting that description. CONTINUED

Ronald Brownstein, The Atlantic

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Americans increasingly concerned about war and foreign conflict

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This week’s Ipsos’ Core Political, fielded February 28 – March 1, before President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, finds Americans increasingly concerned about war and foreign conflict as their approval of Joe Biden’s presidential performance remains stable. A separate Reuters/Ipsos poll also fielded February 28 through March 1, 2022, finds that over the last week, perceptions of Biden’s handling of Russia (40%, +8) and Ukraine (43%, +9) have improved, although sentiment remains mostly negative. CONTINUED

Jocelyn Duran, Hailey Foster & Chris Jackson, Ipsos

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Two in five Americans approve of how President Biden has handled Russia and Ukraine

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A new Reuters/Ipsos poll, fielded February 28 through March 1, 2022, follows up with Americans regarding their feelings on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and President Joe Biden’s handling of the situation. Over four in five (85%) Americans say they are familiar with the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, while 13% say they have just heard of it. American public opinion about Biden’s handling of the crisis has improved notably from last week, although a majority still disapproves. CONTINUED

Jocelyn Duran & Chris Jackson, Ipsos

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Most speech watchers say State of the Union made them feel optimistic, proud

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Most Americans who watched President Biden’s first State of the Union address approved of what they heard, and many said it made them feel optimistic and proud. After nearly two years of the coronavirus pandemic, more than half who tuned in Tuesday night said the speech made them feel like the coronavirus is mostly behind us. …

As we’ve seen with previous presidents’ State of the Union speeches, those who watched tonight are more likely to be from the president’s own political party, boosting approval of the speech.

Most who watched say the president struck the right approach to Russia in the speech. Although 3 in 10 didn’t think he was tough enough. CONTINUED

CBS News

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Speech watchers have mostly positive reaction of Biden’s State of the Union, CNN poll shows

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A 71% majority of Americans who watched President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address had a positive reaction to the speech, according to a CNN Poll conducted by SSRS, with a more modest 41% reacting very positively.

That’s a less enthusiastic reception than Biden received for his joint address to Congress last April, when 78% had a positive reaction and 51% reacted very positively.

Good marks are typical for presidential addresses to Congress, as such speeches tend to attract generally friendly audiences. That’s true this year as well: The pool of people who watched Biden speak was about 11 percentage points more Democratic than the general public. CONTINUED

Ariel Edwards-Levy, CNN

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Americans increasingly want to move on from COVID-19

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With new COVID-19 cases plummeting as the Omicron variant continues to recede, Americans report lower risk perceptions of the virus and are increasingly returning to their normal, pre-COVID life. In response, many believe the country should move towards reopening.

The poll also finds that while nearly eight in ten (78%) believe we are in a better place than we were a year ago with COVID-19, perceptions of President Biden’s pandemic performance are not strong. CONTINUED

Ipsos

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