Biden to celebrate West's unity against Russia in State of Union speech

WASHINGTON, United States — US President Joe Biden will tout Western unity against Russia's invasion of Ukraine in a State of the Union speech Tuesday where the dangerous crisis will overshadow domestic politics.

According to excerpts released ahead of time by the White House, Biden will say that President Vladimir Putin launched an "unprovoked" war, thinking "the West and NATO wouldn't respond" and that he "could divide us here at home."

"Putin was wrong. We were ready," Biden was to declare. "Dictators" need to "pay a price for their aggression."

The annual State of the Union speech -- typically a chance to address top US domestic questions -- has a burning new focus this year, with the massive transatlantic effort to push back Russian aggression.

Just hours before his address before the joint session of Congress, Biden held a more than 30 minute phone call with President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss further US help in arming Ukraine's military.

Zelensky, who is sheltering in Kyiv from Russian artillery strikes, pleaded to "stop the aggressor as soon as possible."

Symbolizing Washington's pledge to do just that, First Lady Jill Biden was hosting Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova in her VIP box for the speech starting at 9:00 pm (0200 GMT).

Biden, 79, already faces a mountain of political challenges on the home front.

One year into his presidency, the Democrat's approval ratings are stuck at around 40 percent and Republicans -- many still in thrall to Donald Trump -- are forecast to seize control of the legislature in the November midterm elections. Despite a strong economy, the highest inflation in four decades has badly soured the national mood.

The White House said he would outline his plan to fight inflation by encouraging a "make it in America" policy "instead of relying on foreign supply chains."

"I call it building a better America," he was to say.

Ukraine opportunity?

Putin has ordered a full-scale invasion of his neighbor, which for years has tried to join Western institutions and break from Russia. Putin has also made thinly veiled threats against the West alluding to Moscow's vast nuclear arsenal.

It's a crisis that could offer Biden a chance to recast the way Americans see him.

While some Republicans are reflexively blaming Biden for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, he is receiving widespread kudos for the determined strategy to shame the Kremlin with warnings weeks ago that an invasion was imminent, even as some European allies and Ukraine's leaders themselves cast doubt.

Now that the invasion has begun, Biden will speak about his efforts to "rally the world" with severe sanctions against Moscow and "the importance of the United States as a leader," Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.

He is likely to refer to his frequent warning that the world's democracies and autocracies are in an existential struggle for the future -- and that the United States needs to take the initiative.

Looking for positives

In a new Washington Post-ABC poll, only 37 percent of respondents approve of Biden's presidency, and 55 percent disapprove. An NPR poll found that more than half the country considers Biden's first year a failure.

On the economy -- the issue that tends to decide US elections -- the Post-ABC poll found that 54 percent of Americans think things have got worse under Biden. Only 17 percent see improvement.

The White House insists that on the whole, the economy is roaring out from its Covid pandemic-enforced shutdown.

Job creation and GDP are strong, while inflation, Biden argues, will be temporary, as pandemic-related kinks in the global supply chain are sorted out.

His overriding message will be his "belief in the resilience of the American people and the strength of the American people," according to Psaki.

And Biden does come with two strong cards.

Last Friday he nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to be the first African American woman in history to sit on the Supreme Court.

Biden will also have an opportunity to pivot the country into an optimism-filled post-pandemic future, putting the long national coronavirus nightmare into the rearview mirror.

His speech comes as infections rates are plummeting and just days after the Centers for Disease Control finally eased mask recommendations for most Americans.

Biden recognized during a weekend YouTube interview the "phenomenal negative" impact of Covid on the US psyche. He said that for two years, Americans had faced the most basic, but painful, of questions: "How do you get up in the morning and feel happy?"

At the State of the Union, the nation will be listening to see if he has answers.