The lawmakers were back; the masks were (mostly) gone; and the partisan banter that typically accompanies the president’s annual update on national affairs returned in force to the House chamber.
But as President Biden delivered his first State of the Union address to the nation Tuesday night, there were signs everywhere that the customary speech had found extraordinary times: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine marks the first conventional war in Europe since the Second World War, and no one knows how it will end.
That somber reality hung over the outer fanfare of the occasion like an anvil dangling over a Macy’s parade. And even Biden’s allies acknowledged that the breach of peace had raised the stakes — and expanded the audience — of Biden’s address.
“It’s really a state of the world speech, more than a state of the union speech,” said Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.).
A number of lawmakers, to show solidarity with the outgunned Ukrainians, wore the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag. The first lady, Jill Biden, watched from the gallery with a special guest: Oksana Markarova, the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), perched next to Vice President Kamala Harris behind Biden, wore a lapel pin featuring the U.S. and Ukrainian flags side-by-side. And White House aides, fearing a blitz of Russian strikes on Kyiv in the midst of Biden’s speech, reportedly massaged his words so they wouldn’t sound tone deaf if that grim scenario came to be. (It didn’t).
Russia’s unprovoked aggression has fashioned an environment of uncertainty and apprehension, but also of global defiance and rare bipartisanship on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers of all stripes are vowing additional help for Kyiv.
Biden launched his address with a direct warning to Vladimir Putin, saying the Russian president “badly miscalculated” in believing the Western world was too divided to mount a unified defense on behalf of Ukraine — a massive effort that’s featured billions of dollars in both military and humanitarian aid.
“Putin is now isolated from the world, more than he has ever been,” Biden said. “And he will never, never weaken the resolve of the free world.
Comments