Morning Joe pundits were deciding what Joe Biden should talk about in the State of the Union address tonight, because what is the point if he doesn't say what pundits want, amirite?
"Biden has to bring voters home. He needs to bring young voters home, people of color home. They've faded maybe 10%, 15% there. Obviously, Israel/Gaza is having an impact. What does Joe Biden need to do between now and Labor Day to start consolidating that base?" Joe Scarborough said.
"I thought a lot about this," Mara Gay said. I've been traveling, talking to voters in several states, and it is clear that he needs to be much more visible. He needs to be talking not only about his victories, and he's got a lot of accomplishments to discuss, but also telling voters he understands their frustration. He understands their weariness. He understands that, for some of them, the economy is not so great right now. The rent is high. Wages still haven't caught up with inflation. He needs to speak to that.
"People are still paying a lot of money in student loans if you're a younger American. We talked about this on the show. if you're under, you know, 40, 45 years old, you know, you're starting to wonder, can I afford to have kids? Can I afford to buy that house? He's got to really speak to those concerns. Then, of course, he's got to be able to speak even more movingly about the plight of Palestinians, I believe. and what he is going to do to ensure their human rights are protected alongside Israelis. He's started to do that, but he needs to be much louder," she said.
"The president has an opportunity to do it tonight in the State of the Union about what is going on there," Jonathan Lemire said.
"Reports out this morning that cease-fire talks broken down there in Cairo. They may not get that in place for Ramadan as they hoped. George, we've seen the president, he's been on the road a little more lately, talking to the media a little more. they know tonight is also a moment to try to show his vitality for the job. There's questions about that. We see the polls about his age. I think tonight, certainly, he'll draw contrasts with Donald Trump, whether or not he mentions him by name, but he also needs to make a positive case for the next four years. That's something Democrats say he hasn't really done. What would you recommend?" he asked George Conway.
"I agree with everything Mara said. He has to be empathetic, has to be himself. He, I think at the end of the day, he doesn't have to do a hard sell. He does have to get out there. He just has to be normal. The reason that's all he has to do is Trump won in 2016 because Hillary was the issue. In 2020, Trump was the issue. 2024, trump will lose again because he will make himself the issue. He cannot help but make himself the issue. What Biden needs to do is just basically say, that guy is crazy.
He doesn't have to refer to him by name. He just has to say, the guy is nuts. Let's be normal, America. That's the theme of this campaign, I think," Conway said.
Scarborough agreed. "So it's crazy, it's crazy that that that's where we are, that it is such a low bar, to be normal. but that's what Donald Trump does. Again, that's what Nikki Haley warned about. The Wall Street Journal editorial page, time and time again. The Republicans selected the only guy that can lose. But he can. But I think it is going to be important. People don't understand. People -- there's just such a -- it's such a short attention span. I think he does have to hammer some of the things he's accomplished, and he does have to show the contrast. You talk about student loans. People are frustrated. Interview people, 'Well, he promised he'd cut it.' Explain how Trump's Supreme Court overruled him. He's still trying to get student loan relief. There are black voters who are upset about the Civil Rights Act not being passed. He needs to explain, it was the senate that refused to do that. Go down the long list. I mean, it's a study of contrasts. In that study of contrasts, you have to line it up for the people. We're for this, they're for that. The most dramatic example is abortion rights.
"I mean, that is going to be the number one issue for many voters."
