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WASHINGTON — Members of Utah's congressional delegation were unimpressed by President Joe Biden's State of the Union address, with Rep. Burgess Owens criticizing the president's stance on aiding Ukraine and Sen. Mike Lee spending much of the evening mocking the president on social media.
Lee took to his personal account on X, formerly known as Twitter, before Biden's address began to apparently mock the president's age, saying, "Waiting for POTUS. I think he got lost in the hallway."
"Should we have put greeters in the hallway to help him find his way to the House chamber?" Lee added two minutes later.
Sen. Mitt Romney was more positive of Biden's comments on foreign policy, praising his calls to stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the president's comments on the Israel-Hamas war.
"It is very much in America's interest to see Ukraine push back against Putin," Romney said in a video shared on social media. "When he got into domestic policy, I'm afraid it was the same old liberal playbook — least that's the way I saw it."
Romney said Biden took some "cheap shots" at Republicans when he said some Republicans want to cut Social Security benefits.
"That's just simply wrong, and everybody knows that there's not a Republican in the House or Senate that is talking about cutting social security, or is in favor of cutting Social Security."
"So, positive on foreign policy, pretty negative on domestic policy," Romney said in sum. "My own view is that what you saw tonight was a highly political speech and it's not going to move the needle."
My thoughts on the President's State of the Union address: pic.twitter.com/CqotmnCwck
— Senator Mitt Romney (@SenatorRomney) March 8, 2024
Utah Republican Rep. Blake Moore issued a statement Thursday night, calling the address "a divisive campaign speech," rather than using the "address to find common ground and inspire a shared vision for America."
"If we want to find real solutions to our nation's most pressing challenges, we must come together," Moore said.
Republicans in the chamber — including Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene — urged the president to "say the name" of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who was killed in Athens, Georgia, last month. Riley's accused murderer is a man who illegally crossed the border to enter the country, prompting calls for increased border security.
Midway through his address, Biden held up a button with Riley's name on it and criticized Senate Republicans for tanking a bipartisan bill that would have increased border security along with providing aid to foreign allies like Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
Lee — who played a key role in killing that proposal — and Owens both criticized the president's handling of the border.
"Joe Biden is once more trying to sell America a rotten border deal that would make the disaster he caused even worse," Lee posted. "He could secure our borders tomorrow if he wanted. He refuses to do so."
"President Trump secured our border," Owens said. "President Biden created a crisis at our border."
Tonight, Joe Biden threatened Supreme Court justices, promised to send billions of tax dollars overseas, and mocked concerns about the border crisis that he caused.
— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) March 8, 2024
The State of the Union will be stronger when Joe Biden has nothing to do with it. pic.twitter.com/nYAUTbNnrj
Aside from the specific policy differences, Lee posted regularly every few minutes throughout the address, saying "he's not well," calling the speech "truly frightening" and making apparent jests about drug issues faced by the president's son, Hunter Biden, saying, "I think he borrowed a little something from Hunter tonight."
Lee was particularly incensed by a statement from Biden addressing the overturning of Roe v. Wade, in which Biden told the seated Supreme Court justices: "With all due respect, justices, women are not without electoral and political power. You're about to realize how much."
"Did he just threaten the Supreme Court?" Lee asked, adding in a post to his official X account: "It is wildly inappropriate for a sitting president to attack and threaten the Supreme Court for upholding the constitution at the State of the Union. Disgusting."
Other Utahns vying for political office later this fall issued statements in response to the speech, with GOP Senate candidate and Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson calling it "the most partisan and divisive one I've seen in my lifetime" and Senate candidate Brent Orrin Hatch saying, "It has never been clearer that America needs @realDonaldTrump back in the White House."
Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs and another Republican candidate in that Senate race issued a statement calling Biden "a puppet for the woke agenda."
The Utah Democratic Party appeared pleased with the president's performance and drew a contrast between Biden and Trump — who faces multiple criminal charges relating to his efforts to stay in office following the 2020 election and his handling of classified documents, among other things.
"Utahns understand the stakes in this election and know that the only way to keep building on all the progress we've made is reelecting President Biden and Vice President Harris to a second term in November," party chairwoman Diane Lewis said.
