Last week, President Biden gave his State of the Union address—an event traditionally meant to instill confidence in the future of our nation. However, this year, the president opted for a campaign speech that sowed divisiveness and tension.
Throughout the speech, the president spent more time blaming Republicans for his own policy failures than he did talking about the issues facing Americans in every corner of this country. We needed to hear about efforts to combat the crisis at our Southern border and how he plans to shore up our failing economy, instead, we spent an hour being shouted at by a president who is out of touch with the issues we are facing.
Immigration is a leading concern for Americans across the country, especially in Central Washington, and it is shocking that the president didn’t even mention our border crisis until he was well over halfway through his speech. Since Biden took office, there have been over 8.7 million illegal crossings nationwide—greater than the population of the entire state of Washington—and over 1 million illegal immigrants encountered since the start of FY24. As much as the president wanted to pass the buck on this issue during his speech, it is crucial we look at the facts. On day one in office, he halted construction of the border wall, ended the Remain in Mexico policy, and took 94 executive actions that weakened border. The result? Widespread chaos. The United States is a land of immigrants, but our current system is broken; I have seen it firsthand.
The economy is another major problem for American families today, and the president refused to take responsibility for his disastrous fiscal policies. Since taking office, inflation has increased by an exorbitant 17.9 percent. According to a Pew survey, 73 percent of Americans say strengthening the economy should be a top priority, but Biden spent almost double the amount of time talking about his failed foreign policy strategy than he did discussing an issue that directly impacts people on a daily basis. People are spending over $11,400 more annually just to afford the basics, and he did not outline any real solutions to get our nation back on track. What’s more, the “President’s Budget” he released today only doubles down on his poor economic policies by adding $4.9 trillion in new taxes on American families and producers and increasing the federal debt by $18.2 trillion.
I entered the Capitol on March 7th hoping our president might outline a positive vision for our future, I left deeply disappointed. It is hard to process hearing the president say that the state of our union is strong while he refuses to act on the numerous crises we have seen in the last three years of his presidency.
It is clear that the United States is politically divided, but the American people deserve a president that can work with Congress and across the aisle—not one who relies on political gimmicks to deepen the divide. The way I see it, we have a president that is failing Central Washington, and while the state of the union may not be strong, my commitment to strengthening our economy, infrastructure, and the way of life is.
