A number of conservative commentators hit out at President Biden, suggesting that his State of the Union address in the House on Thursday was too aggressive or energetic. Fox News host Sean Hannity branded Biden "very angry" and "over-caffeinated," while a former White House press secretary said he was "weirdly amped up."
Biden used his State of the Union address to lay down a challenge to Donald Trump, who, after a succession of primary victories on Super Tuesday, has all but sown up the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
In an energetic performance, Biden claimed Trump is seeking to "bury the truth" about the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot and also accused him of "bowing down" to Russia.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, former Republican White House press secretary Ari Fleischer wrote: "No one is going to remember a single thing Biden says tonight. Everyone is going to remember how weirdly amped up he is and how bizarrely fast he's speaking."
Frank Luntz, a political consultant and pollster associated with the Republican Party, posted on X: "This is the loudest State of the Union speech I can remember. Let's see whether undecided voters like being yelled at."
During an interview with House Speaker Mike Johnson, Fox News host Sean Hannity described Biden at the address as "very angry, very jacked up, who might say charitably over-caffeinated."
Fox News then broadcast a clip of Biden appearing to mumble during a speech at East Palestine, Ohio, on February 16, which was compared to an energetic clip from his State of the Union address.
Newsweek reached out to the White House press office for comment at 6:30 a.m. ET on Friday. This article will be updated if they decide to comment.
Adam Parkhomenko, a Democratic Party strategist, hit back at Fox News on X, writing: "Fox has spent so much time attacking Biden he could have crawled onto the House floor and crawled over their bar. Their approach attacking his memory and energy that they thought was so effective backfired tonight. They should reassess their s***** tactics but they won't."
Trump criticized Biden in a series of posts on Truth Social. After Biden had finished speaking, the former president commented: "This was an angry, polarizing, and hate-filled Speech.
"He barely mentioned Immigration, or the Worst Border in the History of the World. He will never fix Immigration, nor does he want to. He wants our Country to be flooded with Migrants. Crime will raise to levels never seen before, and it is happening very quickly!"
President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol on March 7. Republicans criticized Biden's energetic speech. President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol on March 7. Republicans criticized Biden's energetic speech. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
As he entered the House ahead of his speech, Biden looked shocked and appeared to recoil when he was approached by Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene wearing a red MAGA hat. Clips of the incident went viral on social media racking up more than 3.4 million views.
Greene then handed Biden a badge bearing the name of Laken Riley, the 22-year-old Georgia nursing student who police believe was murdered by a Venezuelan national on February 22.
During his speech, Biden addressed Riley's death directly, though he appeared to call her "Lincoln Riley." The president said she was "an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal. That's right. But how many thousands of people are being killed by legals? To her parents, I say, my heart goes out to you, having lost children myself. I understand."
Update 3/8/24, 7:14 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.