Biden allies see a chance to tamp down some Democratic anxiety: the State of the Union address

WASHINGTON — Advisers grappling with President Joe Biden’s stubbornly low poll numbers and pressure from Democrats to shake up his strategy are planning a far more aggressive approach in coming weeks, with a keen focus on what they see as a high-stakes opportunity and hurdle to clear: the State of the Union address.

One administration official said the speech’s importance is not lost on the president’s top advisers — and the president himself.

“This is probably going to be the most important speech of his presidency and it’s going to set the tone for [this] year,” another administration official said.

The White House is trying to fend off Democratic anxiety about how the incumbent president enters the election year — virtually tied with former President Donald Trump in national polls.

There is a concern among some Democratic strategists that the White House and Biden campaign have a tendency to brush away the criticism instead of trying to figure out what’s going wrong.

Since launching his re-election campaign in April, Biden has focused his public message almost entirely on the economy. In recent months, he has sought to garner support for funding for Israel and Ukraine as they both wage U.S.-backed wars.

But one Biden adviser says there is now “a window to get back to some of our core messaging,” which started Friday as the president delivered his most pointed rebuke of Trump as a threat to democracy. The campaign feels the speech was successful in commanding significant attention, which they will reinforce with Monday’s address about political violence that Biden will deliver at Mother Emanuel AME Church in South Carolina, the site of a deadly 2015 shooting that targeted Black churchgoers.

Biden and his aides have