[ad_1]
“For the first time in living memory, a president outlived the House of Representatives,” C-SPAN host Peter Thren said during live video footage of the session. postponed. “The lights were dimmed and it took President Biden more than 30 minutes to leave the House chamber.”
Biden, who is known to be particularly fond of in-person engagement on the campaign trail and at public events, has participated in selfies and at least once indulged in an impromptu video call to say hello to someone’s niece. , and even discussed the Israel-Gaza war. As I snaked my way to his door, I was told that the microphone was still on.
The president remained at the Capitol until after 11 p.m., while Sen. Katie Boyd Britt (R-Ala.) spoke from her Alabama kitchen and delivered her party’s rebuttal to the president’s State of the Union address. He continued to leave the venue. .
According to NBC, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) was at one point seen tapping his watch as Biden looked at him, which everyone agreed was over. It was a symbol that the time had come.
As he inched closer to the door, he heard a Secret Service guard ordering him to leave. “Get straight to the point,” they advised, and Biden paused to compliment someone’s suit, was drawn into a photo, and then took another selfie.
The president also kept his microphone on during his outing.
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) was heard saying to Biden, “You were on fire tonight,” while Rep. Jerry Nadler (N.Y.) said, “Nobody recognizes you right now.” He doesn’t want to talk about his disability,” he joked to the president. ” Biden, 81, has tried to downplay his criticisms about his age, but can be heard jokingly retorting, “Sometimes I wish I had cognitive impairment.”
Biden was also heard speaking to Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Secretary of State Antony Blinken about talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Biden’s bodyguards then rushed in and told him that Biden was wearing a hot microphone. Biden then stopped speaking and moved on.
Biden’s speech touched on issues such as immigration, reproductive rights and foreign policy in Ukraine and Israel, and he denigrated former President Donald Trump, who faces an expected rematch in 2024, without naming him.
Biden also engaged in call-and-response throughout the night, telling jokes, encouraging audience participation and using interruptions from lawmakers to pivot to Democratic talking points.
Historically, State of the Union addresses have been short. The average time for presidents from Lyndon B. Johnson to George H.W. Bush was 35 to 50 minutes, according to the University of California, Santa Barbara, which tracks this data. Since President Bill Clinton’s administration, the average has exceeded his one hour, and the average time for a president is between his 52 and 80 minutes.
Biden’s speech last year lasted 67 minutes, compared to 73 minutes last year.
So in some ways Biden is accelerating.
Missy Khamvongsa, Michael Scherer and Yasmeen Abutaleb contributed to this report.
[ad_2]
Source link
