At the State of the Union, Biden came out swinging

He was forceful, combative, sharp and funny. And he talked some policy, too. [Bloomberg]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a strike force of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Joe & [the Juice]( Photographer: Bloomberg If I were to create a Completely Made Up and Not at All Official State of the Union Winners/Losers List on my notes app, it might look something like this... Winners: - [Joe Biden]( - Panera [lemonade]( - [White]( before Memorial Day - [Doug Emhoff]( - [Marijuana]( - [Ring Pops]( Losers: - [Speaker]( [Mike]( [Johnson]( - [Snickers bars]( - My [bedtime]( - [SCOTUS]( - The [predecessor]( - [Truth Social]( - [MTG]( If you have no idea what any of this means, congratulations! You have a life. Nevertheless, to help you get up to speed this morning, I have all the [post-SOTU]( commentary you need. Biden’s main job, Nia-Malika Henderson [says](, was “to prove to the millions of Americans who tuned in that he has the physical and mental strength to lead the nation, now, and for the next four years.” How did he do? “Biden, 81, forceful, combative, sharp and at times funny, delivered.” The speech was “pointed and political,” Nia says. “This Biden was nothing like the low-energy caricature who Republicans are desperate to run against.” And Democrats who wanted [to see]( a more combative Biden “got that president. At least for one very public night.” Read the [whole thing]( (for free). Of course, Biden talked a lot of policy too. Here are some thoughts from our other columnists — no links, they can only be found only in this newsletter. You’ll just have to imagine the “EXCLUSIVE!” chyron along the bottom of your screen. Patricia Lopez: Biden punched hard on immigration, [demanding]( that Congress send him the bipartisan bill that died in the Senate when Trump told Republicans to block it. He highlighted all the elements that he said would bring “order to the border,” and dared Republicans to stop fighting and just fix it. The real power, however, came when Biden said what he wouldn’t do: He wouldn’t demonize immigrants, or separate families, or ban people because of their faith — all actions taken by Trump in his first term. “We are the only nation in the world with a heart and soul that draws from old and new,” Biden [said](. Andreas Kluth: The president knows he has a Gaza-Palestine-Israel-cease-fire problem at home and in the world. And he was reminded again on his way to the Capitol to deliver his speech, because his [motorcade]( had to take an alternate route to avoid the many protesters with their giant Palestinian flag. In the chamber, though, Biden had a new message. Of course he still backs Israel, but he told the government of Benjamin Netanyahu that it has a duty to protect civilians. For good measure, he [announced]( that he’s ordering the US military to build a temporary pier on Gaza’s coast, where it will ship in big amounts of medicine, food and water. Will it be enough to alleviate the suffering in Gaza? Too early to tell. But he’s begun to change his tone toward Netanyahu, and it’ll get tougher still. Mary Ellen Klas: Groceries cost too much, and even Cookie Monster [knows]( that. So Biden used his speech to announce he’s cracking down on price gouging and deceptive packaging. “The snack companies think you won’t notice if they change the size of the bag and put a hell of a lot fewer chips in it,” he [said](. His new initiative is called the “[Strike Force](,’’ but it’s no video game. Led by the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, the group will use existing laws against predatory pricing and other regulations to put companies on notice. It is just one of several initiatives sought by the president — from ending “junk fees” to housing and rent relief — to help boost public perceptions of the US economy. Mark Gongloff: Climate isn’t political gold, so Biden understandably didn’t spend a ton of time on it. He even bragged about building roads, bridges and highways, a pitch sure to win over the voters of 1978. But he tried to shore up present-day supporters unhappy about some of his [climate compromises](. Most notably, he talked about “confronting the climate crisis, not denying it,” with an ad-libbed poke at anybody still hiding in their denier foxholes. He claimed to be “taking the most significant action on climate ever in the history of the world.” Ehhh, sure, why not? He’s probably been the most activist president on climate in US history, anyway. He wrapped a lot of his green accomplishments in the red meat of job creation. But he also promised to cut emissions and spoke the words “environmental justice” out loud. That [may appeal]( to some of the voters he needs in 2024. Jonathan Levin: The US clearly has an affordable housing crisis on its hands, and Biden was right to focus on the issue. Rents skyrocketed through much of 2021 and 2022, and soaring house prices have left homeownership out of reach for many families. In fact, shelter trends are a key reason that reported inflation remains as high as it is (there are some [technical issues]( with the measurement of housing inflation as well, but that’s another story). Biden offered up a few short-term fixes, including [proposed tax credits]( for first-time homebuyers and those looking to trade up. But the US needs builders. Although Biden encouraged Congress to pass legislation aimed at addressing the problem, he doesn’t seem to have a silver bullet. Still, any effort to plug the housing deficit is a step in the right direction. Karl Smith: Taking credit for [cutting the deficit]( was a daring display of chutzpah on Biden’s part. He noted that the deficit fell by $1 trillion on his watch. That’s because his first act as president was to sign an inflationary $1 trillion stimulus — and he cut the deficit by not signing another. It was Senator Joe Manchin, in fact, who killed the $3 trillion [jobs and infrastructure plan]( that Biden announced in his address to Congress in 2021. Is Biden for the Girl Boss? Biden’s big speech just so happened to land on the eve of International Women’s Day. Most of the time, these [manufactured]( global holidays are a [recipe]( for disaster (I’m looking at you, [Burger King](). But they can also offer a chance to reflect on how things are going. One one hand, the situation is bleak: North Carolina’s Republican nominee for governor [wishes America would go back]( to being a place where women can’t even vote. And Senator Katie Britt’s [intensely]( [theatrical]( [response]( to Biden’s speech, which was [reminiscent of]( The Handmaid’s Tale, made moms across the country [too scared to go to sleep](. Serena Joy [references]( aside, women — specifically, [teenage girls in their 20s]( — have never been so culturally powerful. 2023 was the Year of the Girl. We experienced Barbie, Beyoncé, and my personal favorite, the [Bridgit Mendler]( time-traveler conspiracy. We did the girl math and ate the girl dinner. We even [transformed]( the Super Bowl, thanks to Taylor Swift. Biden helped boost women’s economic prospects as well. In fact, Allison Schrager [says](, working women have never had it so good, thanks to the rise of remote work and a shrinking [wage gap](. “More women than ever are working, while male prime-age participation is just where it was pre-pandemic, despite a very strong job market,” she writes. Why do women have to play catch-up in the first place? Some men will tell you it’s because women are bad negotiators. But Sarah Green Carmichael is here to pour cold water on that assumption: “In some situations we outperform men — and in many others, we’re equally good,” she [writes](. And that’s not just her opinion, it’s a datapoint from a recent [paper]( by three female professors. Clearly, we’ve come a long way since the pandemic-induced “[she-cession](.” Just don’t go calling it a “[she-covery](,” please. Bonus Equality Reading: Eliminating gender [wage inequality]( is just one battle. To win the war, we need to create a true level playing field for women. – Andreea Papuc Post-Watch Party Want an update on what you missed from last night’s State of the Union? Tim O’Brien joins Nia-Malika Henderson and Patricia Lopez for [a live analysis](. Kickers [George Santos]( is at it again. The [many faces]( of Mike Johnson. Misspelled [celebrity memecoins]( are surging. TikTok seems [pretty worried]( about getting banned. Notes: Please send full-size Snickers bars and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Threads](, [TikTok](, [Twitter](, [Instagram]( and [Facebook](. Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. 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