Biden State of the Union: Start time, how to watch and stream

President Joe Biden will deliver his first State of the Union address before Congress Tuesday as Russia continues its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Normally a time for a president to focus on the domestic agenda, Biden’s speech is now expected to focus on the American response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression in Ukraine, which has claimed over 400 civilian lives and forced the evacuation of more than 500,000 people.

For the first time since the pandemic began, all members of Congress will gather in the House chamber for the annual event. Masks are no longer required, but it won’t be completely normal — the heavy metal security fence that surrounded the Capitol following the Jan. 6 insurrection is back up, and all invitees will have to produce a negative COVID-19 tests to enter the chamber.

Other topics you can expect Biden to touch on include rising inflation, his stalled Build Back Better legislation, and the economic gains of the past year. He’ll also likely take the opportunity to seek support for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, and tout the endorsement she received from retired federal judge and prominent conservative J. Michael Luttig.

The address will air on all major broadcast networks and cable news channels to an expected audience of 35 million to 40 million viewers. It will also be streamed live online. Here’s what you need to know:

Biden is expected to begin his address live from the Capitol shortly after 9 p.m. It will air live on all broadcast networks and cable news channels, and is available to stream here on Inquirer.com, courtesy of PBS:

Over the past 10 years, State of the Union-style speeches have averaged one hour and seven minutes. Former President Barack Obama preferred shorter speeches that came in under an hour (his longest was 65 minutes in 2014), while all four of former President Donald Trump’s speeches to a joint session of Congress topped one hour.

Last year, Biden spoke for one hour and five minutes. Using the average length over the past 10 years, Biden’s address should end around 10:07 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Since the mid-1930s, most presidents delivered their annual State of the Union addresses in January. In fact, just five of the past 20 addresses dating back to 1997 were delivered in February.

Biden’s speech will be the first State of the Union delivered in March and the latest scheduled since 1934, after Congress shifted the opening of its sessions to January.

According to the Associated Press, the delay was driven by a busy legislative calendar, a winter spike in COVID-19 cases, and the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, which tied up broadcast network time on NBC for much of February.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds will deliver Republicans’ rebuttal to Biden’s address.

Reynolds, 62, gained national attention from Republicans with her hands-off approach to the COVID-19 pandemic. She has opposed vaccine and mask mandates, was slow to impose restrictions, and the safety protocols her health department did impose were rolled back beginning in February 2021, before the delta and omicron waves.

“Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds represents what it means to lead with conviction and true faith in our fellow citizens,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said in a statement. “She handled COVID by choosing freedom over lockdowns and personal responsibility over mandates — leading to real economic recovery from the pandemic.”

The practice of delivering a televised rebuttal dates to 1966, when two Republicans — Sen. Everett Dirksen and then-Rep. Gerald Ford — offered a joint response five days after Democratic President Lyndon Johnson’s State of the Union speech.

Ford, who succeeded to the presidency in 1974 after President Richard Nixon resigned, would later become the first person to both deliver a response and a State of the Union address. Later, former Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton also delivered rebuttals, as has Biden, who was part of the Democrats’ official response to Reagan while a senator in 1983 and 1984.

For the second straight year, a fellow Democrat will also deliver a formal response to Biden’s speech.

Rather than criticize Biden, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D, Mich.), speaking on behalf of the left-wing Working Families Party, is expected to lay out a progressive vision for the next year and urge Democrats to deliver on Biden’s agenda.

“Despite some sensational coverage, it’s simple: I’m giving a speech about supporting President Biden and his Build Back Better agenda for the people,” Tlaib tweeted last week. “Look past the headlines & hear progressives’ vision for working with the President & Congress to deliver for our residents.”

But don’t expect it to all be wine and roses, Tlaib, who gained notoriety for making a profane vow about former President Donald Trump, is expected to hammer moderate Democrats, who progressives view as stymying Biden’s economic and climate agenda.