Was this the best time for Joe to kick off his reelection campaign?
In recent weeks, multiple reports have suggested President Biden wanted to make a hard pivot and go for “the jugular” of former President and 2024 political opponent Donald Trump. But even CNN’s Jake Tapper was left wondering if the State of the Union address was the moment to flip the switch.
Tapper reacted to angry Joe Biden’s divisive speech shortly after it wrapped.
“I have never heard a State of the Union Address with so many references to a political opponent,” Tapper said.
Watch the clip below:
CNN's Jake Tapper right after Biden's speech concluded.
"I have never heard a State of the Union Address with so many references to a political opponent."
EVEN CNN is admitting Joe Biden's speech was divisive. pic.twitter.com/TYT0sqvtTd
— Brigitte Gabriel (@ACTBrigitte) March 8, 2024
As reported by Axios:
President Biden is privately pushing for a much more aggressive approach to 2024: Go for Donald Trump‘s jugular.
Why it matters: Biden is convinced he’ll rattle Trump if he taunts him daily.
Biden has told friends he thinks Trump is wobbly, both intellectually and emotionally, and will explode if Biden mercilessly gigs and goads him — “go haywire in public,” as one adviser put it.
Meanwhile, Trump took a shot at Biden before the SOTU with a message of his own.
“Joe Biden is on the run from his record and lying like crazy to try and escape accountability,” Trump says. “We can not take it any longer as a country. Joe Biden’s sad excuse for a State of the Union address aside, here are the facts,” Trump continues.
“When I left office, we gave Joe Biden the most secure border in U.S. history,” Trump says, as he rattles off a list of Trump-era border policies.
“What’s happened now is a horror show…Over the past three years, Biden has actively aided and abetted the importation of millions and millions of illegal alien migrants and settled them into your communities.”
“It’s time to tell Crooked Joe Biden, ‘YOU’RE FIRED!’”pic.twitter.com/hIFRymvWSq
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 7, 2024