President Biden will deliver the State of the Union address on March 7, his final such address before the 2024 presidential election.
House Speaker Mike Johnson formally invited Mr. Biden on Saturday to address the joint session of Congress on March 7, 2024, to deliver the State of the Union, and Mr. Biden posted on X “looking forward to it.” It will be Mr. Biden’s third State of the Union, since a president’s first speech before a joint session of Congress is not officially a State of the Union address.
The 2024 State of the Union will be just two days after Super Tuesday, which will help give a clearer indication of Mr. Biden will face in the 2024 general election. It is also three days after the scheduled start date of former President Donald Trump’s trial on federal charges related to alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
Jacquelyn Martin / AP, Pool
For Mr. Biden, it will be an opportunity to lay out what he views as his administration’s top accomplishments the last three years, as well as a chance to share a vision for what still needs to be done. A State of the Union address is officially a government event, not a political one, but presidents running for reelection or struggling in the polls can and have used the bully pulpit to comfort and persuade the American people. And the president’s poll numbers.
The 2024 State of the Union address comes at a tumultuous time globally, a fraught time politically, and a confusing time economically.
The Biden White House is still urging Congress to pass more funding for Ukraine and Israel, as Ukraine defends itself against Russia and as Israel continues its assault in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault and kidnapping of Israeli citizens. But the Biden administration has become more publicly skeptical of Israeli leadership’s handling of the crisis.
Mr. Biden also faces a different Congress than he did in 2023. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was replaced by Speaker Mike Johnson — a little-known member of Congress to the nation before he took the gavel — and House Republicans have an even narrower majority than they did a year ago.
Unemployment is historically low, and fewer economists are predicting a recession in the near future. And while the administration points to a significant slowing of inflation, voters are still feeling the drag of higher prices for necessities like groceries and cars. Higher mortgage rates, combined with still-high home prices, are making home ownership out of reach for more groups of Americans. And overall, Americans’ economic outlook is still bleak.
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