President Joe Biden will deliver his last State of the Union address as president of the United States Thursday if he fails to win reelection later this year.
That means the stakes for this speech are extremely high.
Public opinion polls show that Americans are not sure the 81-year-old leader will be an effective president in a second term due to his age.
And while Biden – as a U.S. senator and then vice president – always had a reputation for being gaffe-prone, now the verbal slip-ups are giving political opponents more fodder.
Thanks to the timing, Biden’s speech will serve as a table-setter for the 2024 general election, with Super Tuesday’s results knocking former President Donald Trump’s final opponent, former U.N. Amb. Nikki Haley, out of the GOP primary race Wednesday.
The White House has stayed tight-lipped about the meat of the speech, but DailyMail.com has put together a bingo card with some of his favorite Bidenisms, including folksy sayings, familiar anecdotes and the free space has been reserved for a gaffe.
It also includes a number of Biden speech ticks, including when he goes from a booming voice to a whisper, or when he coughs throughout the delivery of remarks.
The president spent the weekend with his team at Camp David massaging his speech.
He arrived back at the White House Tuesday as workers were putting up large fencing around the Capitol complex on the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.
He’s likely to address the wars in Ukraine and in Gaza, the economy, abortion and the southern border, after making a recent visit.
It’s less clear whether he’ll call out Trump by name.
In past speeches Biden’s called the former president a ‘loser’ – meaning that he lost the 2020 race, something Trump still denies.
The president could also bring up childhood favorite Cookie Monster in Thursday night’s speech after the classic Sesame Street character complained about ‘shrinkflation.’
President Joe Biden delivering the 2023 State of the Union address. Thursday night’s speech could be his last State of the Union if he’s unable to win reelection in the fall
Preparations are being made around the U.S. Capitol for Thursday night’s State of the Union. Workers were putting up large fencing around the campus
‘Me hate shrinkflation! Me cookies are getting smaller,’ the Muppet had posted on X.
The president then addressed the issue Tuesday at the White House.
‘I’ll tell you who did notice: the Cookie Monster. He pointed out his cookies are getting smaller, but paying the same price. I was stunned when I found out that happened,’ Biden said.
Edits will be made up until the moment he delivers it, as he speaks before a Congress led by House Speaker Mike Johnson for the first time.
Johnson has told his members to keep heckling to a minimum, as last year’s jeering provided Biden with some of the most memorable moments of the night.
This State of the Union will also mark the final time Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will be in the audience as Republican leader.
McConnell announced last week that this would be his last term serving as GOP leader, ending his tenure in November.
He will carry out his full Senate term, which ends in January 2027.