President Joe Biden’s March 1 State of the Union speech is now set to be followed by three separate responses — and two of the three will come from members of the president’s own party.
It is traditional for one member of the opposition party to give a response to the president’s annual address — and Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds was designated last week to give the Republican Party’s response.
As The Daily Wire reported:
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced the decision in a joint press release Tuesday. The Republican address will follow Biden’s address next Tuesday, March 1.
“While Washington Democrats fail working Americans, Republican governors are fighting and winning for families,” McConnell said in the statement. “Governor Kim Reynolds’ brave, bold, and successful leadership for Iowans has put her right at the front of that pack. She fought COVID without forgetting common sense and protected Iowans’ health and their rights at the same time. She’s defended kids and parents with laws that have kept students in classrooms and woke propaganda out. She has even taken action to address our border crisis while the Biden Administration makes it worse. I am thrilled the American people will hear directly from Gov. Reynolds. The President and his team should take notes.”
But on February 23, Politico reported that Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) also planned to give an official response to Biden’s first formal State of the Union, on behalf of the far-left Working Families Party.
Scoop: Rashida Tlaib will deliver a formal response to President Biden’s SOTU address on behalf of the left-wing Working Families Party. She’s expected to hammer moderates who have stymied his agenda. https://t.co/Xc4FZ7ACWf
— Holly Otterbein (@hollyotterbein) February 23, 2022
According to Politico, Tlaib is expected to go on the attack against moderate Democrats, some of whom are viewed as roadblocks to President Biden’s agenda — particularly the policies and agenda items supported by the far-left wing of the party.
“Tlaib will praise Biden’s stimulus bill and make the case that liberals have pushed aggressively for his agenda, according to a summary of her remarks shared exclusively with POLITICO,” the outlet reported. “She is also planning to argue that Republicans and a handful of intransigent Democrats have blocked progress on lowering the cost of housing, health care and prescription drugs.”
By Monday, another name had been added to the list of responders: Congressman Colin Allred (D-TX) is now reportedly set to deliver a second Democratic response — and third overall — on behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus.
“A second Democrat responding to the President’s State of the Union address. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) was already poised to deliver one response. Now Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) will deliver the Congressional Black Caucus’s response,” Fox News congressional correspondent Chad Pergram tweeted.
A second Democrat responding to the President’s State of the Union address. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) was already poised to deliver one response. Now Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) will deliver the Congressional Black Caucus’s response.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) February 28, 2022
“At this rate Joe Manchin’s gonna be delivering his own SOTU response,” @ppavnr tweeted.
“If your party controls the White House, you don’t have to deliver a SOTU response address,” @wexler added.
Josh Barro agreed, tweeting, “There should not be any SOTU response speeches from democrats when the president is a democrat.”
Townhall’s Spencer Brown summed the situation up as follows: “The SOTU-behind-a-metal-wall optics are already bad, but having three members of the same party delivering their vision for the country guarantees ‘Dems in Disarray’ headlines. And how are voters supposed to know which version of the party they’ll get if they vote for Democrats?”
Related: Ben Shapiro To Deliver ‘The Real State Of The Union’ Following President Biden’s Speech On Tuesday