Biden uses response to Russian invasion to revive claim he can unite America

The Biden administration's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine is one that President Biden considers a unifying force here on the home front, even as inflation soars and Americans remain divided along party lines.

Speaking Wednesday in Superior, Wisconsin, Biden claimed America is "united" even though Russian President Vladimir Putin was counting on being able to "split up the United States." Biden said he is "more optimistic about America today" than he has ever been.

Reflecting on the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, Biden declared, "we are not that country" anymore.

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"Look, how'd you feel if you saw crowds storm and break down the doors of the British Parliament, kill five cops, injure 145… or the German Bundestag, or the Italian parliament," Biden said. "I think you'd wonder. Well, that's what the rest of the world saw. It's not who we are. And now we're proving under pressure that we are not that country. We're united."

Amid several ongoing crises in the United States and abroad, Biden said America "will demonstrate to the whole world no one can split this country" amid Russia's invasion.

Biden's remarks on unity and the American spirit follow a rocky first year in the White House as he still attempts to get a handle on the COVID-19 pandemic. An up-to-date RealClearPolitics average of all the most recent national surveys measuring Biden’s standing put the president’s approval at 40% and his disapproval at 54%.

Biden continues to take heat from Americans over economic burdens, including the high costs of groceries and rising gas prices, which led his own party to introduce a proposal last month to temporarily suspend the federal gas tax in order to help blunt the financial pain of surging prices at the pump. Other costs, including energy bills, are also having an impact on Americans. New York residents say their bills have doubled in the latest wrinkle to red-hot inflation.

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Divisive social issues continue to dominate news coverage.

Republicans across the country, including governors and members of Congress, have attempted to push back against what they consider to be federal overreach from the administration when it comes to coronavirus mandates and lockdowns. Conservatives are battling liberals over teaching Critical Race Theory in public schools and banning biological males from competing in female sports, both of which the Biden administration has signaled support for.

Republicans have also lambasted the Biden administration for its failure to secure the nation's southern border, with an estimated 220,000 illegal immigrants evading Border Patrol since October.

"We're going to lower the deficit by a trillion dollars," Biden said in Wisconsin. "These guys talk about how they always are worried about us spending. We're lowering the deficit. No one's ever done that."

Biden's unsubstantiated claims about being a unifier Wednesday echoed those he made in the State of the Union address Tuesday night. 

A recent Fox News poll showed that only 31% of voters are satisfied with the direction the country is heading. Additionally, 58% of the poll’s respondents said that the country is worse off today than it was at the same time a year ago.

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Biden vowed to unite Americans after being elected, but so far, his efforts have been stifled. "Let’s begin the work to heal and unite America and the world," Biden wrote in a November 2020 tweet.

Fox News' Dana Blanton contributed to this article.