WASHINGTON—Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts released the following statement after President Joe Biden’s fact-challenged State of the Union address Tuesday:
“President Biden’s first State of the Union address mirrored his first year in office—soon after it began, you just wanted it to end.
“On the critical issues facing our country, Biden was either unsurprisingly silent or knowingly dishonest. He beat his chest on his administration’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but failed to mention his utter failure to prevent this crisis—a crisis that will cost tens of thousands of lives, destabilize Europe, and have massive consequences for the American economy and working Americans. Arming Ukraine, implementing harsh sanctions on Putin’s regime, and empowering domestic U.S. energy production should have been Biden’s policy from day one. Instead, he waited until Russian tanks were outside Kyiv to respond to the evil perpetrated by Moscow. From Kabul to Kyiv, our enemies have taken notice of America’s weakness on the world stage.
“Biden’s remarks on the economy don’t match up with working Americans’ lived experiences. Inflation is at a 40-year high. We are paying historic prices at the pump and at the grocery store. Wages are not keeping pace with inflation. The American workforce is shrinking because excessive unemployment benefits now pay people more not to work. His administration continues to pressure businesses to implement COVID-19 vaccine mandates, threatening the livelihoods of millions. Our supply chains are in shambles. Joe Biden has done incalculable damage not just to the American economy, but to the financial health of millions of Americans. No amount of applause lines will change that.
“Finally, Biden’s efforts to take credit for the response to COVID-19 would be laughable if his policy failures weren’t so deadly serious. His COVID-19 vaccine mandate for private employers cost tens of thousands of Americans their jobs, and his mandate for front line health care workers remain in place. He has pitted Americans against one another, as ‘vaccinated vs. unvaccinated,’ and he has politicized public health, deploying the CDC as a political institution rather than a source of scientific expertise. His COVID-19 response has been defined by politics, not public health—by poll numbers, not facts.
“This is a presidency in crisis. This administration’s incompetence has combined with a historic left-wing radicalism to cause misery and hardship across the country. We remain mired in a historic border crisis thanks to his open-border policies. Record numbers of illegal aliens and narcotics are pouring across our border every day. Crime continues to rise in cities across America. The Chinese Communist Party continues to menace the Indo-Pacific and threaten U.S. interests. And the president continues to attack as racist those who support strengthening our elections or empowering parents in the classroom. We simply cannot afford three more years of this.”
