The Road to November 2024

President Biden gave his State of the Union Address on Thursday evening, March 7th, 2024. Some Stuyvesant APUSH teachers assigned watching the State of the Union as homework and discussed it in class. Biden called for American unity and emphasized the United States’ mission in spreading democracy across the world. Specifically, he mentioned his support for both Ukraine and Israel. When discussing the latter, he brought up his plan to build a pier in Gaza to deliver aid likely to address the many voters who are concerned with the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.  Biden also reaffirmed his support for reproductive rights and touched on hot topics like the southern border and America’s relationship with China. He referred to Trump throughout the speech as his “predecessor” and took jabs at the Republicans in both the House and Senate. He even engaged with some of them directly during his speech, responding to shouts from the floor of the chamber. Biden has since been applauded for holding a strong voice and giving a fierce performance, challenging previous widespread conceptions of him lacking a backbone as president.

Following President Biden’s speech, Alabama Senator Katie Britt responded with a message from the Republican Party. She called out Biden for his border policy, blaming him for increases in crime caused by illegal immigrants. She also appealed to mothers and expressed the Republican party’s support for IVF. Recently, a major step back for the reproductive rights movement occurred in Alabama, as the state’s conservative Supreme Court ruled that embryos made by in vitro fertilization should be considered as children, further limiting the autonomy that women have over reproductive decisions. Britt’s response was likely an attempt by the Republicans to reassure female voters that this decision would not be supported by the party. News Editor Seth Fenton wrote an Opinions piece about this decision with in depth context in this issue of The Spectator!