Economic Plans, Sanctions In Focus As Biden Delivers First State of the Union Address

US President Biden will deliver his first State of the Union address Tuesday, within a few hours, as he seeks to contain the impact of the running war in Ukraine, guide the US and its economy through the Covid-19 pandemic, and help buoy Democrats in November’s midterm elections.

Biden will juggle reframing his stalled legislative agenda with reminding Americans of what he sees as key accomplishments, such as the passage of his Covid-19 relief bill and bipartisan infrastructure legislation last year as well as rallying them behind his strategy to counter Russia, which includes uniting with allies on a massive sanctions package to cripple the Russian economy.

War in Ukraine that has enflamed global tensions, added to stock market volatility and increased inflationary pressures on the US economy, so, small business owners believe that Biden needs to win back.

Biden’s approval rating with small business owners remains underwater, according to the recent CNBC|SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey for Q1 2022.

One-third (33%) of small business owners approve of the way Joe Biden is handling his job as president, while 67% disapprove, slightly lower than where his approval rating was in Q4 2021 and the lowest approval marks for the president since he took office.

While the small business community skews conservative overall and Biden’s approval rating is extremely low among Republicans (5%), in Q1 it slipped the most among small business owners who are Democrats (89% in Q4, 83% now).

However, Biden’s approval increased among independents (33% in Q4, 42% now), which is in contrast to other recent public polling of Americans who don’t affiliate with either major party.

Biden’s overall approval from small business owners matches the 33% of owners who describe current business conditions are good.

The survey was conducted among over 2,000 small business owners across the U.S. before the outbreak of war in Ukraine. The war will be a dominant theme in the speech, but with oil prices hitting a seven-year high on Tuesday and wheat prices surging to a level not seen since 2008 as a result of the conflict.

Biden will also be pressed to address the inflationary pressures that were already sweeping through the small business sector and impacting business decisions and confidence on Main Street.

The White House has been signaling that in addition to a focus on Russia and Ukraine, President Biden will use the speech to make his case for a strong economy, while acknowledging inflation.