Joe Biden to deliver final State of the Union address of his term Thursday

Joe Biden will deliver the final State of the Union address of his presidential term on Thursday evening, giving the incumbent Democrat an opportunity to tout his accomplishments and pitch his re-election campaign as he prepares for a rematch against Donald Trump in November.

Biden will address a joint session of Congress to deliver the annual update on the nation’s welfare at at time when the US faces numerous challenges at home and abroad. Although the rate of inflation has eased, and unemployment is at a record low, only 27% of Americans rate the country’s current economic conditions as excellent or good, according to a Gallup poll conducted in January. Meanwhile, a growing number of Americans cite immigration as the nation’s most important problem, and support for abortion access has neared record highs even as dozens of Republican-led states have enacted severe restrictions on the procedure following the overturning of Roe v Wade.

Biden has simultaneously had to navigate the US response to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. The White House’s demands that Congress approve more funding for Ukraine have so far failed to produce results, and vice-president Kamala Harris’s recent call for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza does not appear to have moved the needle in negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

Previewing Biden’s State of the Union speech, his press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said his remarks would focus on the president’s vision for the nation’s future and his legislative accomplishments. During the first two years of Biden’s presidency, when Democrats controlled the House and the Senate, Congress was able to pass a number of major bills, including the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the