State of the Union: Russia-Ukraine war shifts President Biden’s domestic priorities

Russian invasion has forced President Joe Biden to refocus his speech on foreign policy, rather than his embattled domestic agenda before US midterms

US President Joe Biden puts on a mask after speaking at a February 28 event to celebrate Black History Month. AP

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President Joe Biden had hoped to use Tuesday's annual State of the Union address to set the tone for his domestic priorities as Democrats brace themselves for the midterm elections, but Russia’s attack against Ukraine could dash that plan.

The war has forced the president to redraft his speech to put more emphasis on Ukraine, the latest foreign policy crisis to face the Biden administration.

"There's no question that this speech is a little different than it would have been just a few months ago and there's always national security in every State of the Union speech," White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Monday.

"Every State of the Union speech also reflects a moment of time. And so the President will lay out the efforts … he has taken his lead on to rally the world to stand up for democracy and against Russian aggression."

Mr Biden will reportedly emphasise the importance of defending democracies, even as he has to address domestic issues such as inflation, Covid-19 and rising crime rates, which could help the Republicans to take control of Congress in the November elections.

Mr Biden has responded to the Ukraine crisis with unprecedented financial and export sanctions on Russia in concert with allies in Europe, Asia and the Pacific.

"He will talk about the steps we've taken to not only support the Ukrainian people with military and economic assistance, but also the steps he's taken to build a global global coalition imposing crippling financial sanctions on President Putin, his inner circle and the Russian economy," Ms Psaki said.

"And he will talk about the steps he's taking to mitigate the impact of President Putin's invasion of Ukraine on the global economy and the American people."

He has shored up Nato’s eastern flank by sending more US troops, and has provided lethal aid to Ukraine. But he has pledged not to intervene militarily in the crisis for fear of starting a war between two nuclear superpowers.

A Washington Post-ABC News poll released last week found that only 33 per cent of Americans approved of Mr Biden’s handling of the Ukraine crisis while 47 per cent disapprove.

That poll also found that the president's already falling approval rating has continued downwards, with only 37 per cent of Americans approving of the job he is doing — a record low since he took office.

Mr Biden’s approval rating largely started to plummet last August amid the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan and a surge in Covid-19 cases due to the Delta variant, despite his administration’s robust vaccination campaign.

Republicans have capitalised on his handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal amid the bipartisan backlash, giving the president little incentive to devote much time, if any, to the Taliban-held country in his speech.

It is also unclear whether he will spend time addressing US efforts to revive the Iran nuclear deal with its interlocutors, including Russia, given that the accord has domestically become yet another partisan issue.

But Mr Biden is nonetheless expected to address domestic issues throughout much of the speech, which could touch on Americans’ wariness of dealing with Covid-19 restrictions as the Omicron surge continues to fall.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention drastically revised its mask guidance on Friday.

A 6-year-old receives a dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine at a vaccination clinic in Los Angeles. EPA

Nurses prepare doses of Covid-19 vaccine at a pop-up vaccination clinic in Los Angeles, California. EPA

A product stall filled with free N95 respirator masks, provided by the US Department of Health and Human Services, sits outside the pharmacy at a Jackson, Mississippi, Kroger grocery store. AP

A hospital sitter provides companionship, observation and surveillance to assigned patients at St Mary Medical Centre in Apple Valley, California. Reuters

A 13-year old receives a dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine at a clinic in Los Angeles. EPA

A sign advises patrons of a Covid-19 restriction while long icicles grow from an awning outside a restaurant in Denver, Colorado. AP

A registered nurse works with a Covid-19 patient inside the infectious disease unit (IDU) at Helen Keller Hospital in Sheffield, Alabama. AP

A person self-tests for Covid-19 at a free drive-through testing site in Whittier, California. AP

Workers wear protective equipment at a Covid-19 testing site in the Boyle Heights section of Los Angeles. AP

Pupils leave a high school in Arlington County, one of several school districts which sued to stop the mask-optional order by Governor Glenn Youngkin, in Arlington, Virginia. Reuters

Protesters rally against Covid-19 vaccine mandates in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. AP

People wearing face masks walk past a business displaying a sign requiring face coverings in Washington. Reuters

The revised guidance says that masking is unnecessary for about 70 per cent of the American population given its new emphasis on hospital admission rates instead of case numbers.

Republicans have been criticising mask and vaccine mandates as well as school closures in the lead-up to the elections.

They have also sought to draw attention to the 40-year high record inflation under Mr Biden, something that the Ukraine war, coupled with the harsh sanctions on Russia, could only exacerbate before the election.

At the same time, Mr Biden can easily promote the rapid turnaround in employment. The US unemployment rate is 4 per cent – down from 6.4 per cent when former president Donald Trump left office in January 2021.

He can also promote investments spurred by badly needed infrastructure repairs that Congress passed on a bipartisan basis last year after negotiations brokered by the White House.

Still, Democrats face a bumpy electoral map that favours Republicans this year. And Republican control of even one house of Congress would be enough to hamper Mr Biden’s domestic agenda.

Conservative and centrist members of his own party, namely senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, have blocked the president’s massive Build Back Better spending package.

That package would include funds to fight climate change and investments in green energy technology needed to reach his stated goal of halving US carbon emissions by 2030.

Mr Biden said last month that he intended to get out of Washington more this year to advance his agenda.

To that end, he will travel to the key swing state of Wisconsin on Wednesday to discuss his infrastructure law and the stalled Build Back Better legislation on Capitol Hill.

But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will doubtless continue to cast a long shadow over that visit.

Mr Biden boldly declared that “America is on the move again” during his first address to Congress as president last year.

However, he will have little choice but to highlight how much work remains to be done abroad and at home during this year’s State of the Union.

The inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States took place on January 20, 2021. EPA

Vice President Kamala Harris, left, is sworn into office by Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor, right. EPA

Joe Biden stands with his wife, Jill Biden, as he is given the oath of office by Chief Justice John Roberts of the Supreme Court. EPA

US President Joe Biden signs an executive order on Covid-19 during his first minutes in the Oval Office. EPA

The US president and first lady address the National Football League Super Bowl LV between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, on February 7. EPA

Mr Biden, left, Ms Biden, second left, Ms Harris, third left, and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff hold a moment of silence outside the White House on February 22 for the 500,000 Americans who have died from Covid-19. EPA

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Mr Biden delivers his first address to a joint session of Congress on April 28 as Ms Harris, second right, and speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi applaud. EPA

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Mr Biden addresses US Air Force personnel on June 9 at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, England, ahead of the G7 summit in Cornwall. Getty Images

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Left to right, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, President of the European Council Charles Michel, Mr Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Mr Johnson, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, French President Emmanuel Macron, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Ms Merkel pose during the G7 Summit In Carbis Bay. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II, centre, with Mr Biden and the first lady in the Grand Corridor at Windsor Castle on June 13. Getty Images

Mr Biden, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meet during the US-Russia summit at Villa La Grange on June 16 in Geneva, Switzerland. Getty Images

Mr Biden delivers remarks on Afghanistan in the East Room of the White House on August 16. EPA

Mr Johnson, left, Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison, centre, and Mr Biden attend a press conference via audio visual link from Parliament House in Canberra, Australia. EPA

President Biden receives his coronavirus booster vaccination in Washington on September 27. Reuters

Mr Biden meets with members of his administration, business leaders and CEOs regarding the need to address the debt limit, on October 6. EPA

The US president walks past Swiss Guards as he arrives for a private audience with Pope Francis at the San Damaso courtyard in Vatican City on October 29. EPA

Mr Biden arrives for the Cop26 UN Climate Summit on November 1 in Glasgow, Scotland. Getty Images

Mr Biden, surrounded by lawmakers, signs the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act on the South Lawn of the White House on November 15. EPA

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Mr and Mrs Biden at the casket of former senator Robert J Dole in Washington on December 9. EPA

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Mr Biden, centre, stands with former Kentucky governor Steve Beshear, left, and Dane Maddox as he inspects damage from a tornado that struck the state on December 10. EPA

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Mr Biden marks the one-year anniversary of the Capitol attack on January 6. EPA