How SOTU has become more politicized over the years

By Michael Jones

It was a series of stunning moments—not because of who they involved but also because of the backdrop.

There President Joe Biden was last February, at the invitation of then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, fulfilling his constitutional responsibility to deliver a report on the State of the Union.

During the 73-minute speech, the second of its kind in Biden’s term, he was interrupted several times by House Republicans.

In one instance, Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) said Biden was to blame for fentanyl overdose deaths. In the most viral of the interruptions, Reps. Bob Good (R-VA) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) called the president a liar when he accused Republicans of attempting to cut Social Security and Medicare. And the moments Greene opted for silence were insulting: When Biden introduced the Ukrainian ambassador to the US and the family of Tyre Nichols, the 29-year-old Black man five Black Memphis police officers killed during an arrest the month before Biden’s address.

Ahead of the president’s primetime speech tonight, the topic du jour on Capitol Hill has been whether House Republicans will play nice, or attempt to disrupt the speech. 

Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) told me the moment embarrassed her on many levels: As a parent, former teacher, and now current member of Congress.

“Putting aside the fact that he is the President of the United States, and I do believe he and anyone in the position deserves due deference because of that, he literally is coming to our legislative body to convey to the people a set of policy priorities. This is how government works,” she said. “And to have Marjorie Taylor Greene and others screaming at him on the floor? Seeing this level of disrespect made me feel heartsick, honestly.”

Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) speculated last week that we could see another showdown tonight between Biden and his Republican rivals.

“I think that you will hear a repeat of what he did in the last one where he almost did a call and response to say something that is so heart-throbbing that you will get both sides of the aisle at least once to stand up, even in this time, because [Republicans] understand now that really in charge.”

The obvious question is, How the hell did we get here?

Fortunately for you, I doubt my editors will allow me the requisite space to unspool a nuanced play-by-play history lesson.

So, for our sake, let’s travel back to the late 1980s when Newt Gingrich, the combative former Georgia congressman, ascended to House Minority Whip, the leadership position responsible for counting votes and inspiring party unity among the rank-and-file members. It was in this position that Gingrich laid the groundwork to “build a much more aggressive, activist party.”

As the speaker in the mid-1990s, Gingrich set out to ingrain Christian conservatism across the Republican Party’s policy agenda while ushering in an era where hateful rhetoric, hyper-partisanship, and questioning the patriotism of Democrats ruled the day.

The downward spiral would continue into the turn of the 21st century and come to a head during a 2009 joint session of Congress when South Carolina Republican Rep. Joe Wilson interrupted President Barack Obama as the former president spoke about how his proposed health care reforms would exclude undocumented immigrants.

“You lie,” Wilson yelled in an outburst that secured his spot in congressional infamy and led to a party-line disapproval resolution nearly a week later.

It’s not just Republicans who have generated headlines for the SOTU theatrics.

During the 2020 State of the Union address, the final of former President Donald Trump’s single term in office, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi ripped up her copy of the speech into four pieces.

“He shredded the truth, so I shredded his speech,” Pelosi later said in defense of her actions. “It was a courteous thing to do considering the alternatives. It was such a dirty speech.”

Still, despite the history, the level of audience interaction at last year’s speech was unusual. Even top White House officials said it caught them off guard.

“We were not expecting that. The president was not expecting audience interaction,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said last week. “The president was pretty sharp in responding back to those Republicans in front of him and making them promise something they didn’t think they would promise on protecting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. I think it was a moment that the American people really, truly appreciated.”

Jean-Pierre declined to comment on what the White House expects from Republicans this year or if Biden’s speechwriting team has laid another trap in this year’s address. 

“I can tell you that the president is ready,” she said. He’s ready for that moment, to talk about the State of the Union, to lay out his future vision of how he sees this next year and beyond and what it is he wants to get done.”

Based on chatter from sources close to the administration, the president would welcome another chance to showcase his ability to think on his toes, given the outsized concerns about his age.

But if Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has his way, it won’t happen. During a closed-door meeting this week, he encouraged members to 

The current speaker, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), is looking to avoid a repeat of last year’s debacle. In a closed-door meeting this week, he encouraged his conference to practice decorum to demonstrate House Republicans are the adults in the room. (I’m told the message was delivered without an ounce of irony.)

“I’ve been asked a lot about decorum,” Greene told a group of reporters on the House steps this afternoon when asked if she would reprise her interruptions from last year. “It depends on what the president has to say tonight. And we’ll see what I think and feel at the time.”

The State of the Union is about the future, not the past, though, a point Balint was quick to emphasize.

“I’m looking forward to a very strong speech around what we’ve accomplished, what we still need to get done, but also just really drawing a very stark contrast [between Trump and the Republican Party],” she said. “President Biden is someone who bets on America, who believes in America, who truly believes that there are so many things that we can do when we do work together.

Michael Jones is an independent Capitol Hill correspondent and contributor for COURIER. He is the author of Once Upon a Hill, a newsletter about Congressional politics.