Southeast Missouri congressman Jason Smith criticizes State of the Union address

President Joe Biden gave his fourth State of the Union speech Thursday night, March 7, garnering praise from members of the Democratic Party while receiving heavy criticism from his colleagues across the aisle.

Among those with criticism on the president's speech was U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and congressman for Missouri's 8th District, who said Biden has not lived up to the promises he made during his inauguration in 2020.

"President Biden's State of the Union address tonight once again confirmed he never intended to live up to his inaugural promise to be a president 'for all Americans,'" Smith said in a statement Thursday on the Ways and Means Committee's website. "Since day one, President Biden has ridiculed Republicans as 'extremists,' while putting far-left activists in control of his party over what is best for the American people."

Smith said the president was blind to the issues the country faces, such as illegal immigration, the state of the economy and rising crime rates, and only addressed them because "his poll numbers slipped in an election year."

Smith said he and the other members of the Ways and Means Committee traveled around the country to listen to American citizens' concerns with the Biden administration, and how its policies have "left working families, farmers, and small businesses behind."

"Tonight, the president said America is coming back," Smith said. "But the truth is that the president's record on nearly every issue — from supercharging the IRS, to handing out billions in green special interest tax breaks to corporations and big banks, to his family's business ties with China — has Americans questioning whether he has their backs."

During Biden's speech, the president said he intends to roll out new proposals that would raise taxes on corporations and billionaires, something Smith told Fox Business host Stuart Varney on Friday morning, March 8, that he and his colleagues hope to block.

"The Republicans control the House of Representatives. We've been stopping bad policies that President Biden has been pushing since Republicans took control of the House," Smith said during the interview. "What people need to be reminded, Stuart, is that we are in this economic crisis strictly because of Biden's policies. In his first two years in office, where the Democrats controlled the White House, the House and the Senate, they spent more than $10 trillion, which has led to inflation increasing by almost 18% since Joe Biden's taken the oath of office. That means every American is paying more to put food on their table, clothes on their backs and gas in their cars. He talks about this tax credit to purchase a home. The reason why mortgage interest rates are the highest they've been in more than two decades is because of Biden's economic policies."

In addition to opposing Biden's proposed tax hikes for corporations and billionaires, Smith also feels the president is out of touch with average Americans.

"We've heard from small-business owners and working families on the issues they're facing. I would encourage Joe Biden to do the same. When was the last time Joe Biden was in a supermarket? When was the last time Joe Biden was at a gas station? Do that, you'll see what real Americans are experiencing."

Smith was also critical of Biden's comments that the U.S. economy is the "envy of the world," telling Varney, "If any Biden is moving their lips, there needs to be fact checks."

"What he said right there is completely wrong. Inflation's gone up almost 18% since he's taken the oath of office. Real wages for Americans has decreased by 4.4% since Joe Biden's taken the oath of office. The facts don't add up to what he's trying to sell the American people, and, you know what, the American people aren't buying it because they believe that the economy is worse now than it was four years ago when President Trump was in office."

Overall, Smith said Biden's State of the Union, the last of his term, was a political stunt because of the president's repeated shots at former President Donald Trump.

"I have never known of or sat in a State of the Union speech where I've seen a sitting president attack his main political rival over and over again," Smith told Varney. "What we witnessed last night was unprecedented."