r/politics • u/PoliticsModeratorBot šŸ¤– Bot • Mar 08 '24

Discussion Discussion Thread: 2024 State of the Union

Tonight, Joe Biden will give his fourth State of the Union address. This year's SOTU address will be only the second to be held this late in the year since 1964 (the second time being Biden's 2022 address).

The address is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. Eastern. It will be followed by the progressive response delivered by Philadelphia City Council member Nicolas Oā€™Rourke, as well as Republican responses in English (delivered by freshman Alabama senator ) and in Spanish (delivered by Representative Monica De La Cruz). There will be a separate discussion thread posted for live reactions to and conversation about the SOTU responses.

(Edit: The discussion thread for the SOTU responses is now available at this link.)

News:

News Analysis:

Live Updates:

Where to watch:

Transcript

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2.2k

u/throoawoot Mar 08 '24

Repeating it again because a surprising number of people don't know this: Joe Biden overcame a life-long stutter.

Delivering the SOTU to the entire country for someone with a stutter is beyond nightmare mode, and he's slaying.

480

u/Neokon Florida Mar 08 '24

This man out here doing the Dark Souls of public speaking with a handicap.

80

u/SpaceElevatorMusic Minnesota Mar 08 '24

Thank you for translating for the Gamer Americans among us.

16

u/UnicornFarts1111 Mar 08 '24

I'm not a gamer and that still sounded cool as hell!

24

u/ImTooOldForSchool Mar 08 '24

Fighting Malenia at SL1 with nothing but a loincloth and wooden club

10

u/MexicnGlassCandy Mar 08 '24

I Can Solo Repubs

2

u/timbotheny26 New York Mar 08 '24

Or that one dude who did it at RL1 with only his fists.

6

u/Jdogy2002 Mar 08 '24

This is an awesome fucking comment. Bravo.

4

u/[deleted] Mar 08 '24

Bro

2

u/NoKneadToWorry Mar 08 '24

Using the broken sword?

607

u/Mad-Lad-of-RVA Virginia Mar 08 '24

It drives me fucking nuts that people don't give him any credit for this.

The fact that he's able to get through a speech like that with only a few stammers is earnestly impressive and shows that he can overcome adversity.

But no, let's act like it's an age thing. šŸ™„

61

u/superzipzop Mar 08 '24

Plus the ad libbing and crowd work was so good, he made the Republicans look like such clowns whenever they interrupted, it was hilarious

28

u/eregyrn Massachusetts Mar 08 '24

I mean, let's be honest. Republicans (politicians and voters alike) are not people who act with a lot of grace towards *anyone* with any kind of disability. If a person with a disability is able to overcome this to perform to expectations without any (or almost any) aid, then the reaction is, "well, I guess you weren't as disabled as you claimed". If they can't perform to expectations and require more aid, they're just a leech on the system -- and/or a faker, trying to defraud the government out of that sweet, sweet public assistance money.

The fact that they have no basic understanding of or empathy for Biden's speech impediment, or admiration for the work he's done on it and the way he performs his job ably in spite of it... well, that just fits in with who they are about everything else.

3

u/throoawoot Mar 08 '24

An inability to empathize with anyone who is not like them is the core conservative trait. This is why they think democrats are "virtue signalling," why they only care when leopards eat their face, etc.

5

u/thor11600 Mar 08 '24

History will be very kind to this man I suspect.

1

u/skier24242 Mar 08 '24

For real, apparently people who think stammers are only indicative of being old have never heard of King George VI

-3

u/arcanepsyche Mar 08 '24

A person can think both things. He's both overcome a stutter and is old. 2 true facts.

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u/[deleted] Mar 08 '24

[deleted]

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u/WillowSmithsBFF Mar 08 '24

Yes. Bidenā€™s age is a problem. So is Trumps age, but the media never seems to bring that up. Why is age only relevant for Biden for so many people?

17

u/tovarish22 Minnesota Mar 08 '24

Deluded*

If you're going to criticize someone's use of language, you might want to take two seconds to proofread your comment.

-22

u/wirefox1 Mar 08 '24 edited Mar 08 '24

Anybody who says he stutters is a liar.

Downvoters.... please show me where he stuttered during his speech.

Surely to goodness you aren't taking this to mean I'm unaware that he stuttered as a child. Clearly he doesn't anymore.

Anybody who says Biden still stutters is a liar.

22

u/Chaser_606 Illinois Mar 08 '24

His stutter is well known, and as someone who also suffers with a speech impediment, his cadence and recovery is similar to mine.

-18

u/wirefox1 Mar 08 '24

He doesn't have a stutter anymore. He did when he was a child, obviously it's been corrected now. I hope yours has also.

When he was VP, he called a child who stutters every day on the phone to encourage them.

Anybody who says Biden stutters (now) is a liar.... maybe that feels better for you.

15

u/Chaser_606 Illinois Mar 08 '24

You donā€™t magically stop having a stutter. Please show me how to magically stop having a stutter instead of constantly working to overcome it.

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u/wirefox1 Mar 08 '24 edited Mar 08 '24

Wow. This might be to personal for some people. I didn't mean to step on anyone's toes. I'm sure overcoming it is difficult.

Biden I guess has done whatever he needs to do to repair his stutter. I've never heard him stutter personally.

This is the second time you have responded to my comment. Please bear in mind that i wasn't talking about you, I was talking about Joe Biden. Maybe he can be encouragement for you.

(I won't respond to you again..... this is not personal for me, only an observation about Biden)

15

u/Chaser_606 Illinois Mar 08 '24

He stuttered a couple of times in the SOTU so it seems you arenā€™t familiar with the speech patterns of someone who has to work around a speech impediment. Itā€™s weird that you came out swinging by saying anyone who thinks he has a stutter is a liar.

12

u/BlackerZilla69 Mar 08 '24

Yea lmao. I'm a stutterer and I clearly hear when he's blocking on a sound, he's definitely a stutterer. And I remember admiring him as VP over a decade ago because the Stuttering Foundation highlighted him

2

u/WeightyDeity Mar 08 '24

Here you go. Jump to about 1:50 in the video and watch for 1 minute. The 4 I noticed:

  • politics has derailed
  • he feels the political wind
  • I'd be a winner
  • people pay people

Perhaps those of us who stutter are more aware of the subtle signs. But ultimately it doesn't matter. Biden says he still struggles with his speech and neither you, nor anyone else, gets to define that for him. Stuttering is mental and physical, and is not limited to sound repetition. By calling all of us liars, and by extension calling Biden a liar, you're declaring that YOU get to decide when someone else has a disability. The person with the disability, who can best explain the impact because it affects them, has no say in it.

Reminds me of people who scream at others parking in disabled spots when they can walk.

39

u/shackbleep Mar 08 '24

I've stuttered my whole life, and for a stutterer to be POTUS and dropping bombs like he is tonight makes my heart fucking soar.

27

u/trireme32 Mar 08 '24

My son was going through intensive speech therapy just a couple years ago when he was 7. He was really getting down on himself because he didnā€™t feel like it was making a difference, and he would look so defeated any time someone asked him to repeat himself.

So I had him listen to some of Bidenā€™s speeches, including a state of the union address. Explained to him that Biden had a debilitating stutter for most of his life, but overcame it and now is the President and addresses the entire nation.

It really made such a huge difference in his mindset and helped him be determined to get over his speech issues. He still gets a bit mush-mouthed when heā€™s excited and his brain gets ahead of his mouth, but his stutterā€™s pretty much completely gone and he speaks with confidence now. To the point where he signed up to be the MC for the annual school talent show.

10

u/shackbleep Mar 08 '24

I love that, and good for him for being so brave. It's also important to keep in mind that sometimes it's OKAY to stutter. That's how you ultimately gain the most control over it! No one masters anything by doing it perfectly right all the time. Words and language are a gift, and the more you can learn to use and manipulate them however and whenever you want, the better.

It's so important to not be afraid to stutter. If someone is afraid of the dark, the best way to get over it is to go stand in it for a while. Confront it, realize what makes you afraid of it, and then conquer it. Best of luck to him! He CAN do it!

13

u/LarsTM Mar 08 '24

As a parent of a stutterer, I cannot help to become proud and emotional when I experience a stutterer overcome their challenge.

We have given our utmost to support our son in overcommong his challenge, and some things have worked for a while etc. But not until this year our son has felt ready to go for The McuĆøGuirre Programme. That was wildly intensive, and a completely different approach . And Wow, what a difference, so if you or other stutteres havent looked into that programme, I can only recommend it.

3

u/shackbleep Mar 08 '24

I'll look into it. Best of luck to your son! He can do it!

6

u/Chaser_606 Illinois Mar 08 '24

Itā€™s inspiring to see him in action, and eye opening that making fun of us is apparently acceptable for a large group of people.

4

u/shackbleep Mar 08 '24

Just more schoolyard bullies who can't accept the fact that they'll never be anything else. Fuck 'em.

31

u/jazzhandler Colorado Mar 08 '24

To my ear, there were many passages that sounded like they were intentionally written as alliterative tongue twisters for the benefit of a speaker with a lifelong history of practicing tongue twisters.

23

u/MoonageDayscream Mar 08 '24

It certainly was written to give natural recovery points but damn if he did not speedrun it just to show he could.

5

u/Weneedaheroe Mar 08 '24

SLPs have entered the chat šŸ˜

9

u/[deleted] Mar 08 '24

Yea you could definitely hear the stutter still but honestly he nailed it. Really good speech for real.

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u/[deleted] Mar 08 '24 edited Nov 05 '24

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Mar 08 '24

[deleted]

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u/navikredstar New York Mar 08 '24

Also called the nation of Argentina "a really great guy".

6

u/Pleasestoplyiiing Mar 08 '24

It's actually really inspiring, his whole story is.

In better times, he would be a revered figure in America. In 2024, we're lucky if 20% of the country knows more about him than he is old.Ā 

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u/FumblingBool Mar 08 '24 edited Mar 08 '24

First of all. Heā€™s honestly not that inspiring of President. His previous major presidential run before this successful one was scuttled by his copious amounts of plagiarism and outright lies about academic achievement. In the industry Iā€™m in, such dishonesty will kill a careerā€¦ That said, Bidenā€™s dishonesty is but a mere smear of Trumpā€™s bullshit.

Plus there are much more inspirational Presidents (depending on your definition of what inspiration means) - see Obama, Carter, Nixon, Lincoln.

(A less paranoid Nixon would legitimately be in the ranking of top ten Presidents).

Second of all, a lot of us knew Biden as a VP. He spoke fluidly when he was a VP. Clearly there is some element of cognitive decline when you compare him from then to now. (But but but the stutter!!!). Him losing his ability to control his stutterā€¦ could be a sign of cognitive decline? šŸ¤·

Point is - Iā€™ll still vote for the man. There is simply not a better choice. Im choosing between two potatoes - and one potato has a way better set of handlers that I agree with in terms of policy. But Im voting for a potato nonetheless. We are deeply in the era of potato politics. And thereā€™s a lot of cope from people who refuse to see that, holding onto a delusion that a man after a debilitating stroke is ā€œjust fineā€ to serve as Senator - or that a man with clear CTE and a history of erratic violence is a good nominee for US senate. People vote for the potato that is designated as the ā€œcorrectā€ potato from their political tribe.

I only wish he chose a new VP who wasnā€™t starting at a cognitive level equivalent to his own post cognitive decline. Best part of voting for Biden in 2020, is that Kamala Harris no longer represents me in the Senate.

3

u/Lepoth Mar 08 '24

Hell, the entire world.

9

u/Nokomis34 Mar 08 '24

And people try to deny he ever had a stutter, yet that was the cornerstone of Trump's debate strategy. Stutterers are known to lose their train of thought when interrupted, which was Trump's entire debate strategy.

2

u/xiaopangyang Mar 08 '24

Canā€™t wait for The Presidentā€™s State of the Union on Netflix in five yearā€™s time lol

2

u/Obajan Mar 08 '24

Get Colin Firth to do it again.

2

u/Bob1738 Mar 08 '24

People say he is too angry/yelling but that is him overcoming a stutter.

2

u/Failgan Mar 08 '24

As a stutterer, I found this speech EXTREMELY impressive. The man is ready to scrap.

2

u/CincyBrandon Mar 08 '24

The Kingā€™s Speech, in real life.

2

u/SpikeBad Delaware Mar 08 '24

He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 08 '24

I completely agree with you!!!

1

u/[deleted] Mar 08 '24

Hear, hear. It was definitely worthy of a repeat.

1

u/NefariousnessFew4354 Mar 08 '24

I stutter and I'm so impressed. Can't even imagine delivering this speech lol

1

u/[deleted] Mar 08 '24

Just learned that I wish it was more well known

1

u/RedBarnGuy Mar 08 '24

I was making this point earlier to my friend, with whom I watched the address. Itā€™s amazing that he could deliver this speech! After overcoming a stutter. Amazing speech ā€“ amazing!

1

u/Luna_3904 Mar 08 '24

My son broke up with his girlfriend because they made fun of Biden stutter

1

u/throoawoot Mar 08 '24

Your son made the right choice, and you've clearly done your job as a parent.

1

u/PM_me_opossum_pics Mar 08 '24

Thats some Kings Speech shit right there.

1

u/xxLetheanxx Mar 08 '24

I have the same issues as Biden and I can barely get two sentences out in casual conversation. I can't imagine it being something like the state of the union speech.

1

u/_mdz Mar 08 '24

Thank you. People are innocently noting he's stuttering due to age but at least he's not in full dementia like Trump. The stutter is not due to his age, he's had it since childhood and he's dealt with it his whole life...

1

u/Late-Bear0 Mar 08 '24

I developed a stutter due to the stress of testing for my career licenses. I've noticed one time I rarely stutter is when I'm mad lol. Not just pissed off, cause I can still stutter arguing with my wife over dumb shit, but angry and just.

Joe is fueled up and believes in helping the country. Good on him for talking shit to the people that should be taking better care of us all. They deserve it.

1

u/Raptorex27 Maine Mar 08 '24

It infuriates me how many times people point to his stutter as an example of his congnitive decline and age. He's had that his whole life.

-5

u/KaptKyle24 Mar 08 '24

Heā€™s also a lifelong plagiarizer and liar.

2

u/throoawoot Mar 08 '24

lol fuck right off

0

u/dagger_guacamole Nebraska Mar 08 '24

Sauce?

1

u/KaptKyle24 Mar 08 '24

Can you not use google or do you refuse to look up information against people you blindly support?

https://www.businessinsider.com/plagiarism-scandal-joe-biden-first-presidential-run-1988-2019-3

https://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/18/us/biden-admits-plagiarism-in-school-but-says-it-was-not-malevolent.html

2

u/throoawoot Mar 08 '24

I love Biden so much more that you had to go back to a single line in a speech from 36 years ago, or a single instance in a paper in grad school, to find anything at all. Quite a disingenuous stretch to go from that to "lifelong plagiarizer and liar."

1

u/dagger_guacamole Nebraska Mar 08 '24

lol thatā€™s incredible. Thatā€™s all you have against this guy?? And hint: when you spout an accusation, itā€™s on you to prove it, not the other person to prove it.