Mr. President, the state of the union is not strong

OPINION:

President Biden’s State of the Union address was largely full of empty boasting, posturing, and lavish promises about how big government is going to fix all your problems. In fact, he promised four more years of a progressive agenda that is morally bankrupt.

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For nearly two hours, the president laid out his administration’s “historic achievements” and stressed the importance of “uniting the country” and “saving our democracy.” But his claims contradict the facts: this administration’s agenda is historic only in its divisiveness and destruction of democratic, humanitarian norms. This can be seen in three promises discerned in the president’s speech.

Mr. Biden promises to enable lethal bloodshed of unborn human beings in the womb.

During the opening phase of the address, President Biden scolded Republicans for the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the case that ruled abortion was a woman’s constitutional right. He blamed former President Donald Trump for the reversal and Republicans for taking away women’s reproductive rights.

Reproductive rights. It makes it sound as if the president wants to protect a woman’s right to give birth. But that is precisely the opposite of what he and the Democratic Party intend. Instead of protecting a woman’s right to give birth, they are protecting a woman’s right to shed the blood of a baby created in the image and likeness of God.

To what length will the president and his ilk go to enable widespread bloodshed of the weakest and most vulnerable among us? They will do exactly as the president announced during the speech. They will work through the legislature to codify Roe v. Wade in statute. We should take him at his word. During the Roe v. Wade era, an unborn baby in an American hospital had less legal protection than an endangered species of bird in the forest outside. President Biden and the progressives want to restore that barbaric era. May we never be weary and never rest in our quest for every baby to be protected by law and welcomed in life.

Mr. Biden promises to unify the nation while delivering one of the most divisive speeches ever.

During the address, President Biden repeatedly touted his intention to “unify the country” and “save our democracy.” And yet, this State of the Union address was perhaps the most partisan in modern history, an angry, divisive pep rally for Democrats, goading Republicans throughout the speech, and targeting them for partisan attacks.

“Attacking his opponent directly in the first minutes of his speech is unprecedented and perhaps the most partisan start to a State of the Union address in modern memory,” Marc Thiessen wrote. “As someone who helped write several SOTUs and who reveres this important presidential institution, I’m stunned by this address. It’s an utter disgrace.”

Indeed. Throughout the address, President Biden broke presidential decorum by railing against former President Trump, including references to Mr. Trump’s relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, his purported role in January 6, 2021, his pro-life commitments, and his economic agenda. He even defended his own disastrous border policies by directly rebuking his predecessor’s agenda.

President Biden will never be able to unify our nation, and his promise to do so contradicts the fact that this speech was, as Republican respondent Sen. Katie Britt said, “the performance of a professional politician who has been in office longer than I’ve been alive.” Hopefully, this address’s vitriolic and divisive nature will unify our nation’s good-thinking citizens to vote him down in the 2024 election.

Mr. Biden promises four more years of a godless, secular agenda.

But the President’s address was remarkable not only for what he said but what he didn’t say. He didn’t say anything new or interesting about the economy, instead serving up false claims, such as that he cut the federal deficit by more than $1 trillion — a claim that has been fact-checked numerous times, including by the Washington Post who gave it a “bottomless Pinocchio” rating in 2023. He took nearly an hour to get to the border issue, even though polls show that Americans rank immigration and the border as Mr. Biden’s most significant failures as president.

More to the point, he didn’t say anything that would comfort the faith community regarding their deepest concerns. On abortion, he delivered a ringing endorsement of abortion-on-demand, voicing his hope that Congress would legalize the lethal bloodshed of unborn human beings. On religious liberty, he said not one word. On marriage and family, he failed once again to underscore its primacy for society. On Israel, he delivered what could be described as the most anti-Israel speech in presidential history, spending more time chastising Israel than its terrorist counterpart Hamas. In effect, President Biden’s State of the Union address was a thinly veiled campaign speech, promising four more years of his secular agenda.

The Soul of Our Nation

The president closed by mentioning that this is “a battle for the soul of our nation.” He’s correct. But it’s not a battle between right versus left. It’s a battle between right versus wrong, and good versus evil. If nearly half of our country’s representatives applaud President Biden’s desire to legalize violence against babies and if approximately 50% of our citizens are marching in step to his secular agenda, then the soul of our nation is rotting away.

Mr. President, the state of our union is not strong. Therefore, in this election year, let us humble ourselves, pray, and seek the face of God. Let us not lose hope, for the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

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Dr. Robert J. Pacienza is Senior Pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, President of Coral Ridge Ministries and Founder of the Institute for Faith & Culture.