Title: An In-depth Analysis of Americans’ Reactions to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address (2023)
The 2023 State of the Union (SOTU) address by President Joe Biden received a positive response from the majority of Americans who watched the speech, according to a comprehensive post-event poll conducted by SSRS for CNN. Over 60% of viewers expressed a favorable reaction to Biden’s SOTU speech, with approximately 35% of this group reporting a very positive assessment.
Historically, Biden’s State of the Union speeches have elicited widespread but tempered positivity from viewers. In 2022, for instance, 71% of respondents reported having a positive reaction to Biden’s address, with 41% expressing a very positive response. In comparison, during the previous year, 72% of viewers responded positively to Biden’s SOTU address, with only 34% reporting a very positive reaction – the lowest “very positive” number in CNN’s polling history dating back to 1998.
The demographic divide was evident in this year’s reactions. Democratic speech viewers had universally positive responses, with about two-thirds of independents who tuned in also offering a positive assessment. Conversely, roughly three-quarters of Republicans who watched the address expressed a negative review, marking an increase from about 60% in Biden’s previous two State of the Union addresses.
Positive Perceptions and Confidence in Biden’s Leadership
The poll revealed that 62% to 38% of Americans who watched the address believed that the policies proposed by President Biden would move the US in the right direction, rather than the wrong direction. Prior to the speech, only 45% of these individuals shared this belief.
Following the address, 31% of those who watched expressed a lot of confidence in Biden’s ability to carry out his duties as president, while 28% reported having some confidence, and 41% expressed no real confidence. A slight increase was observed among individuals who had a lot of or at least some confidence in Biden’s ability to protect American democracy, with 36% expressing a lot of confidence and 27% reporting some confidence – an improvement from the pre-speech survey that reported 25% expressing a lot of confidence and 27% having some confidence.
Significant shifts in perceived ability were noted among political independents who watched the speech. Before the address, 51% of these individuals expressed at least some confidence in Biden’s ability to carry out his duties as president; this figure rose significantly to 68% among the same group of independents following the speech. Perceptions of Biden’s ability to carry out presidential duties did not change significantly among either Democrats or Republicans who tuned in.
Presidential Approval and Policy Effectiveness
Favorable marks from SOTU speech-watchers are consistent with historical trends, as presidential addresses to Congress typically attract generally friendly audiences that disproportionately represent their own party. In CNN polling dating back to the Clinton era, audience reactions have always been positive. However, State of the Union addresses rarely result in significant shifts in presidential approval among the broader American public – particularly in recent years.
Positive Reactions to Biden’s Economic and Immigration Policies
A 56% majority of Americans who watched the address believed that Biden’s economic policies would move the US in the right direction, with 44% reporting the opposite. This improvement was more pronounced among political independents, with 61% expressing a positive assessment of Biden’s economic proposals following the speech, compared to 41% prior.
Similarly, approximately half (53%) of Americans who watched the address felt that Biden’s immigration policies were about what they should be. Another 29% believed that his policies went too far, while 19% thought they did not go far enough. A shift was observed in both Democrats (from 71% to 83% expressing a positive view) and independents (from 42% to 56%) regarding the immigration policies.
Attitudes towards Biden’s Proposed Support for Israel and Ukraine
About half (53%) of State of the Union viewers believed that Biden’s proposed policies supporting abortion rights were about what they should be. Another 29% stated that his policies went too far, while 19% reported that they did not go far enough.
Approximately half of speech watchers (52%) believed that Biden’s proposed level of US support for Israel was about right, with 28% expressing the opinion that he was proposing too much support, and 20% stating that his proposed level of support was not enough. A similar percentage (49%) of those who tuned in felt that Biden’s proposed levels of US aid for Ukraine were about right, with 34% believing his proposed level of support was too much, and 16% reporting that it was not enough.
Divergent Opinions on Biden’s Support for Israel among Age Groups
A 42% plurality of speech watchers younger than 45 reported that Biden’s proposals offered too much support to Israel, while just 22% of viewers age 45 and older shared this opinion. A more modest age divide was evident in reactions to Biden’s proposed level of aid for Ukraine.
Methodology: The CNN poll was conducted by text message with 529 US adults who reported watching the State of the Union address on Thursday, February 2nd, 2023. These individuals were representative of the views of speech-watchers only. Respondents were recruited to participate before the speech and selected through a survey of members of the SSRS Opinion Panel, a nationally representative panel recruited using probability-based sampling techniques. The results for the full sample of speech-watchers have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 5.6 percentage points.
