President Joe Biden’s forceful denunciation of Russia during his State of the Union address Tuesday evening drew loud applause from both sides of the aisle.
SO WHAT
Conservative blogger Allahpundit might have summed it up best when he quipped: “We’re all hawks now.”
WHAT HAPPENED
Biden described measures the U.S. was taking in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including imposing sweeping economic sanctions and creating a Department of Justice task force that will target Russian oligarchs.
“Tonight, I say to the Russian oligarchs and the corrupt leaders who built billions of dollars off this violent regime, ‘No more!'” the president declared, earning a standing ovation from nearly every member of Congress in attendance.
WHAT IT SAYS ABOUT THE GOP
Some of the most influential figures on the right – including Fox News host Tucker Carlson and The American Conservative editor Sohrab Ahmari – have partially defended Russian President Vladimir Putin.
- But it’s become increasingly clear they’re in the minority.
- 80% of Republicans say the Biden administration isn’t tough enough on Russia, according to a new Quinnipiac poll.
- And 64% of Republicans say they support the president’s decision to deploy thousands of troops to Eastern Europe to support U.S. allies in NATO.
- A Rasmussen poll released Tuesday found that nearly half of Republicans support U.S. military involvement in the event that a wider war breaks out in Europe.
Also on Tuesday, the editorial board of the New York Post – where Ahmari once served as opinion editor – advocated that the West consider intervening in Ukraine.
WHAT ELSE BIDEN SAID
Although Biden’s anti-Russia rhetoric went over well in Congress, his speech failed to impress viewers at home, according to a CNN instant poll.
- 41% of respondents had a “very positive” reaction to the president’s remarks, the lowest rating of a State of the Union the network had seen in 15 years.