Sen. Schmitt says Biden failed to address key issues during 'divisive,' 'bizarre' SOTU address

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., said President Joe Biden's "divisive" and "bizarre" State of the Union speech did not address key issues that are important to the American people.

"I thought it was the most divisive State of the Union from the most out-of-touch president in American history. I thought it was bizarre," Schmitt told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview after the speech.

The Republican senator added that the president "didn’t seriously address" illegal immigration, a top issue for voters going into 2024.

"It felt like he was yelling at the time. So the delivery was weird, and then it fell short on substance. He really didn't seriously address the number-one issue in the minds of the American people, which is illegal immigration."

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President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol, Thursday, March 7, 2024, in Washington. Standing at left is Vice President Kamala Harris and seated at right is House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.  (Shawn Thew/Pool)

Biden pointed to Congress for the ongoing crisis at the southern border, repeatedly saying he is waiting on Congress to pass the bipartisan border agreement before taking any serious action. Schmitt, agreeing with many Republicans, said that Biden can secure the border now.

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Schmitt told Fox that Biden "doesn't want to secure the border," however, and that "the American people see through that. Basically, his speech was – don't believe what your eyes are telling you. And, people have had enough of it."

"It's the ultimate head fake, because the same laws that were on the books when President Trump had the lowest level of illegal immigration in 40 years are on the books now. So he could undo his 90 executive actions that created the crisis. If he just did that, if he just went back to where we were in January of 2021 and wanted to enforce our laws, we could secure the border."

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo. speaks during a news conference with Republican Senators about border security issues at the U.S. Capitol January 24, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Drew Angerer)

He added that it was "laughable" when the president suggested the U.S. is the safest it has ever been under his administration.

"Ask people whose communities have been ravaged by gang violence and by fentanyl, and ask the families of those who have loved ones who've been murdered by illegal immigrants who have come across the border recently," Schmitt said of the president's comment regarding crime. "We're less safe, we're less secure. We're less prosperous under Joe Biden's lack of leadership."

Biden made several mentions of his "predecessor," former President Donald Trump, during the speech, as he faces a likely 2020 general election rematch against the former president in the fall.

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers the annual State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the Capitol building on March 7, 2024, in Washington, D.C. It was Biden's final address before the November general election. (Shawn Thew-Pool)

"This was like a campaign speech," Schmitt said, adding that the president appeared "really divisive" and "over-the-top partisan." 

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Schmitt brought Kari Rosbeck, executive director of the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance, as his guest to the address.