What did western Pennsylvania's Congress members think of Biden's State of the Address union?
WASHINGTON (KDKA) -- President Biden's State of the Union address Thursday night brought somewhat predictable partisan reactions from members of Congress.
State of the Union addresses are usually delivered in January, but House Speaker Mike Johnson opted for a March invitation to President Biden, which put the speech squarely in the political season right after Super Tuesday.
"President Biden delivered a pretty strong message and I think folks saw it. Clearly there will be some choices going into next year, whether we want to grow our economy for the middle class or have this trickle-down economics fairy tale, whether you want to see reproductive freedom protected or attacked as we saw it with Trump's appointees to the court, whether we want our democracy to be strong," said U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Aspinwall.
Deluzio's Republican colleague Congressman Mike Kelly, R-Butler, had a different view of the speech.
"What I was disappointed in, at the very end, usually you try to bring people together, more a unity thing. I think the president got out of sorts last night and it reminded me as a child growing up, when I did something wrong, my grandfather would scream at me, 'you gotta get this,' said Kelly.
Where Deluzio saw a strong leader laying out the alternative between a Biden and Trump agenda, Kelly saw just an angry old man.
On the failure of the Republican House to vote on the bipartisan border security and Ukraine aid bill, as urged by Biden, Kelly says he hears all sides of this issue, while Deluzio says the Republican house is a do-nothing Congress.
"We're going to have that constant debate, but I think it's become too heated right now," Kelly said.
"We're the world's policeman, but the world's policeman is getting drained of all its assets and energy," he added.
"They're becoming like the do-nothing Congress in 1948 that Harry Truman dealt with," said Deluzio. "On so many issues from security assistance to taking action on the border, whatever it is, the House Republicans are the ones that are blocking so much of what we need, bipartisan reform."
As for the partisan antics on the House floor where one side sits on their hands and other jumps up and cheers, both think that is just politics in a very politically divided body.
While this state of the union had all the markings of a kick-off of a presidential campaign, a lot can happen between now and November. And if the past is any indication, most people are going to forget this state of the union in a matter of weeks.