While many presidents have used such moments to focus on the “union” of all Americans in our shared values and interests, Biden spoke to our disunion and seemed, again, to push the nation further apart.

Much of the rhetoric was familiar, if delivered as in a higher volume.

Biden raised the same demons he’s raised before, as he painted his opponents as threatening democracy itself.

As with the speech in Philadelphia and Valley Forge, Biden selected a backdrop of unity to highlight and play on our divisions. And many in the media were thrilled by the display.

The president attacked Trump and the Supreme Court, and compared political opponents to those presenting the same threat as Hitler in World War II.

After the speech, MSNBC anchor Nicolle Wallace gushed that it “was like a punch in the face to every Republican in the room.”

After repeating again that it “was a punch in the nose,” she added, “everybody knows this is a great speech.”

I beg to differ.

It was certainly a powerful delivery for Biden, but it was a rather poor State of the Union speech because there was little unifying in it.

Biden attacked his political opponents over a dozen times and even seemed to lash out at the Supreme Court justices sitting before him.

He returned to the themes of his infamous Philadelphia speech with the portrayal of his opponents (including millions of Americans) as representing an existential threat to the nation, like the Nazis or the Confederacy.

The hellish red backdrop was gone but in some ways it was more chilling precisely because this was a different setting.

This was supposed to be the State of the Union, where a president lays out what he views as the national interest, not just his political interests.

The hellish red backdrop was gone but in some ways it was more chilling precisely because this was a different setting.

There is a difference.

Some Republicans showed the same lack of appreciation for this moment in heckling and shouting at the president.

I have written that such conduct should not be tolerated at the SOTU.

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