Joe Biden's 2023 State of the Union Speech Time and How to Watch
President Biden will deliver his second State of the Union address Tuesday night when he appears before a joint session of Congress.
Because the Democrats lost their majority in the House in November's midterms, Biden will be flanked this time by GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (instead of his political ally Nancy Pelosi) and Vice President Kamala Harris.
The State of the Union has its origins in a constitutional requirement, which says the president "shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient."
In 1913, President Woodrow Wilson revived the tradition of delivering the speech to Congress in person after some of his predecessors chose to provide written reports.
Biden will give his address in a tumultuous political climate. A recent Washington Post/ABC News poll found that 62 percent of Americans think he has achieved "not much" or "little to nothing" since taking office.
What Time Is the Speech?
Biden's speech will be delivered at 9 p.m. ET. As is customary, it will be immediately followed by a rebuttal from the Republicans, which this year will be delivered by Arkansas' new governor, Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Sanders, 40, who was President Donald Trump's press secretary from 2017 to 2019, is the nation's youngest governor.
Biden is one of four politicians in history to have delivered both the State of the Union address and its rebuttal when he was in the Senate.
How to Watch the Speech
The State of the Union will be broadcast live on the White House's website, WH.gov/sotu, and its YouTube channel.
It will also be covered live by major broadcast and cable networks: ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, CNN, Fox News and MSNBC.
What Will Biden Say?
The exact content of Biden's address has not been disclosed, so there is the usual speculation over what he might say.
Alex Waddan, an associate professor of politics at the University of Leicester in the U.K., told Newsweek that Biden could toughen his stance toward China after a suspected Chinese spy balloon was recently shot down off the South Carolina coast. The balloon had traveled across the continental United States.
"In the sense that there may be something more formal in the State of the Union, it would simply be to harden language about the relationship with China and portray China as a bad actor, rather than specifically addressing the sort of local politics of it in terms of the Republican attacks on the administration for not acting sooner," Waddan said.
Biden is also expected to address the death of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man who died last month after being beaten by police during a traffic stop in Memphis, Tennessee. Five former Memphis police officers were fired and charged with second-degree murder.
Members of Nichols' family are expected to attend the State of the Union.
