Liberal pundits gush over Biden's State of the Union address: ‘Uncle Joe is back!’
CNN political contributor Van Jones said the speech portrayed 'Joe Biden at his best'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Liberal commentators showered President Biden with praise Tuesday night following his first State of the Union address, where he touched on key issues currently facing the country, including the war in Ukraine, U.S. border security, inflation and skyrocketing crime rates.
CNN's reaction lineup gushed over Biden's performance, repeatedly crediting him for representing "the values" of the country at various points throughout the night.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I have to say considering his speaking talents and challenges, it was a fairly solid performance," Jake Tapper said as Biden can be seen making his way out of the U.S. Capitol on screen. "That's essential Biden to say that the State of our Union is strong because you the American people are strong. Very Biden."
CNN political contributor Van Jones said the speech portrayed "Joe Biden at his best."
"Uncle Joe is back," Jones declared. "I thought he was being the leader – nobody believes in these American ideals more than Joe Biden. It showed tonight. He has spent his entire career standing for American unity at home. He stood for that. And for American ideals abroad. I have not seen unity in this country like I saw at the beginning of that speech, and I don’t want to step on that…I was impressed with the energy.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jones added, "If you didn't believe in democracy before if you never heard of democracy, and you just looked at the body language of this guy, this guy believed every word he said and I am proud tonight we have a leader like him."
"I agree with you Van," former Obama adviser David Axelrod chimed in. "I thought it was very energetic, I thought, I appreciated the fact that he said this isn’t just about ideals. It’s also about our security, and I think that is a point he has to make again and again and again."
President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol, Tuesday, March 1, 2022, in Washington. (Saul Loeb, Pool via AP) (Saul Loeb, Pool via AP)
CNN’s Abby Phillip said Biden's speech represented America's center.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I didn't hear [him]...playing to the base in this speech. It seemed almost like what he was trying to say to the base is this is how we have to message...This was Biden trying to find...the mushy middle," she told viewers.
CNN senior political analyst Kirsten Powers echoed her colleagues on Twitter.
"Biden delivered tonight," she wrote. "He came across as empathetic and capable, perhaps the two single most important traits that got him elected president.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The network's Joe Lockhart contrasted Biden's inclusive verbiage to former President Trump's.
"Here's the biggest difference between a Biden SOTU and Trump SOTU. Biden says we, Trump said I -- repeatedly," he wrote.
Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin also took to her Twitter late Tuesday to praise Biden's "not overly long" speech.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Biden delivered. An inspired address on Ukraine. A signal he's heard the public on inflation. Some bipartisan proposals. Not overly long, which always helps," she wrote.
"Once again we have a President who wants to be leader of the Free World," NBC News' Presidential Historian, Michael Beschloss tweeted.
While Democrats and media allies heaped praise on the president, others across the aisle voiced their dissatisfaction with the long-awaited address.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The state of the union is strong" reads like a horrifying laugh line," Fox News contributor Mollie Hemingway tweeted.
Fox News contributor Joe Concha observed that "58 percent of Americans say they are worse off today than they were one year ago."
"The State of the union is strong because you the American people are strong. We are stronger today than we are a year ago." -Biden. In a related story, 58 percent of Americans say they are worse off today than they were one year ago," he wrote.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox Business host Charles Payne said that he was "depressed after that speech."
"Speaking of mental health - I'm depressed after this speech," he wrote. "It was flat, unimaginative and unfocused but so many parts of it were disingenuous. I was ready for that stuff but was hoping to get a general lift for the nation that needs it very badly."