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US President Joe Biden will deliver the traditional State of the Union address on Tuesday. The speech will be broadcast at 9:00 p.m. Washington time (3:00 a.m. Kyiv time) by the Voice of America Ukrainian service.

Among the topics that Biden is likely to talk about are the state of the economy, social spending and the Russian war in Ukraine. Usually, the speech “On the state of affairs in the country” is prepared for weeks with the participation of many speechwriters and administration officials. Last year, Biden’s speech came just days after Russia invaded Ukraine and focused on explaining the US response.

Appeal to voters

Republicans took control of the U.S. House of Representatives just three months ago, and the speech could mark the unofficial start of the 2024 presidential campaign season, as Biden is expected to announce his plans to run for re-election in the coming weeks.

The speech could give Biden access to his biggest television audience of the year. An estimated 38.2 million people watched the speech on American television last year, according to Nielsen.

The speech will also give the president an opportunity to win more support among Democrats, some of whom are concerned, in particular, about his age. Biden turned 80 in November, and if re-elected, he will be 82 at the start of his second term.

Present at the performance

The president delivers the speech during a joint session of Congress. All representatives of the Senate, where the Democrats have a majority, and the House of Representatives, where the majority is Republicans, are invited. Government officials from the Biden Cabinet, representatives of the Pentagon and the Supreme Court are also present.

The president also invites other guests who are sitting in the first lady’s box. Their presence can reinforce the point he is making in his speech. Among them this year is Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, “in recognition of Ukraine’s continued support of the United States almost a year after Russia launched its unprovoked attack,” the White House said.

Among others, the first lady’s box will include U2 vocalist Bono, an activist in the fight against HIV/AIDS and poverty. “Working with other activists, he played a key role in building public and bipartisan political support for PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), a program announced by President Bush in his State of the Union address twenty years ago, which was promoted by Senator Biden at the time.”

Congress representatives also invite their guests. In particular, the chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Michael McCaul, said that he invited Roya Rahmani, who was the first ambassador of Afghanistan to the United States, to send a signal of support to the women of Afghanistan.

“Next Successor”

The only person from the government who will not come to President Biden’s speech is the so-called “designated survivor”, a representative of the White House. This person is placed in a secure location and will be tasked with taking over the administration of the country in the event of a disaster in Congress that kills or injures the President and his other constitutional successors, the Vice President and the Speaker of the House.

Republican response

According to tradition, after the President’s speech “On the state of affairs in the country”, the floor is given to representatives of the opposition for a short address to the people.

This year, the Republican Party chose Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who served as White House press secretary during Donald Trump’s presidency, to answer.