Biden turns the State of the Union into a fiery campaign stump speech: From the Politics Desk

Welcome to a special post-State of the Union edition of From the Politics Desk, a newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the campaign trail, the White House and Capitol Hill.

In tonight's edition, senior national politics reporter Jonathan Allen breaks down how Joe Biden's State of the Union address felt more like a campaign stump speech. And senior national politics reporter Sahil Kapur takes you inside the House chamber for the highly anticipated event.

Biden turns the State of the Union into a fiery campaign stump speech

Analysis by Jonathan Allen

President Joe Biden dispensed with the pretense of rising above the political fray tonight, delivering a State of the Union address that hammered his general election rival, former President Donald Trump, and Republicans in Congress with unusual force.

“It wasn’t long ago when Republican President Ronald Reagan thundered, ‘Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!’” Biden said a few minutes into the speech, referring to the former Soviet leader and the Berlin Wall in pushing for continued U.S. aid for Ukraine. “Now, my predecessor, a former Republican president, tells Putin ‘do whatever the hell you want.’ … I think it’s outrageous; it’s dangerous, and it’s unacceptable.”

That was one of a dozen times Biden alluded to Trump, whom he beat in 2020, as his “predecessor.”

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In what amounted to a fiery campaign stump speech in the House chamber, Biden peppered in proposals for a second term — cutting prescription drug prices, raising taxes on corporations and providing mortgage subsidies — with broadsides at his political opponents. His allies will be reassured by his energy and the combative tone