US President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting of his Competition Council in the White House in Washington on March 5, 2024. Photo: VCG

US President Joe Biden is expected to deliver his State of the Union address on Thursday night local time, right after former US president Donald Trump became the sole remaining major candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. 

Describing the address as "what could be the most consequential speech of Biden's presidency," US media outlet CNN expected Biden to tout his economic record, talk about the failed border deal and abortion rights to provide a contrast with Trump, defend the US' role abroad, and warn about democracy and threats in the country. 

Although Biden will command the attention on the night of what might be the largest television audience before November, the speech will likely be rather defensive in nature, considering that the Biden administration does not have many achievements to boast about, experts said. 

Biden is likely to focus his speech on boosting domestic confidence, emphasizing his government's achievements and plans in the economy and stock market, Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday. 

In terms of foreign policy, Russia is likely to be a major topic. Biden is also expected to address support for Israel and immigration issues, Lü said. 

However, the expert highly doubted that the confidence of the American people could be restored by just one speech. A number of surveys showed the American public's strong disapproval of the state of the economy, something Biden has struggled to wrap his head around, according to CNN. 

The speech comes right after former US president Donald Trump became the sole remaining major candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, after his main opponent Nikki Haley announced her exit from the election on Wednesday. Trump, who won 14 of 15 states' primaries on Super Tuesday, and Biden, who swept all 15 states on that day, are well on their way to becoming the 2024 presidential nominees in their respective parties. 

A number of US media outlets pointed out that the speech will give Biden a chance to draw a contrast with Trump by focusing on issues he believes will win over more voters. He will also be working to show voters concerned about his age that at 81, he is still rigorous enough for the job, NPR reported on Wednesday. 

However, observers suggest that Biden's performance in this State of the Union address is unlikely to have a significantly positive impact on his re-election prospects. 

"If this were a year ago, a good State of the Union speech might have helped his public approval ratings, but not now," Lü said. In fact, Biden's previous two State of the Union addresses during his term did not have a positive effect either.

Biden had a very positive image when he first took office, but his honeymoon period ended after a few months, while his public approval ratings quickly dropped to below 45 percent in 2022 and never returned to previous levels. 

The majority of Americans losing confidence in both of the main presidential prospects indicated that the democratic system that the US prides itself on has shown significant flaws, observers noted, as the public is stuck with an unsatisfactory gerontocracy.

"The two-party system in the US has become strange and abnormal, and is stuck in a sluggish state. The issues in the electoral system are a microcosm of American politics," Lü said.

Later on Thursday after Biden's speech, Republican Senator Katie Britt will deliver the Republican response, as per the annual tradition.