Usually, presidents take the opportunity to try to unify the nation during The State of the Union. Then, they articulate their vision for the future.

Not Biden. In the most hyper-partisan SOTUS ever, he blamed Republicans for his many failings, and then threatened the Supreme Court. He didn’t talk about the future, but dwelled on the past, hearkening back to “my predecessor” 13 different times.

Instead reassuring the nation, he yelled at us instead.

Why?

Because everything he’s done has turned out bad.

It started with the botched disaster in Afghanistan, which killed 13 servicemembers and left behind $82B in weapons to the same terrorists that orchestrated 911.

The disaster continued in Ukraine, when Biden told Putin it would be OK if he invaded, as long as Russia didn’t take too much territory. Already, 500,000 people are dead.

Iran was poor and the Middle East was at peace when Biden took office. But after he gave Iran some $90B, they launched the most brutal attack on Israel since the Holocaust, and the Red Sea is now a war zone.

I’m glad that Biden - finally - attempted - to mention Laken Riley.

Of course, he only did so because he was goaded into it.

And he called her ‘Lincoln Riley’ instead: a failed college football coach at the University of Spoiled Children.

Laken Riley’s mother was furious, writing, “Biden does not even KNOW my child’s name – it’s pathetic!”

But Biden did – briefly – acknowledge that Laken’s death was caused by his open border, saying she was “an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal,” who is, “technically not supposed to be here.”

Of course, a few days later, his handlers forced him to apologize to Laken Riley’s murderer for calling him an “illegal.”

Yet, he never apologized to Laken Riley’s parents.

Nor did he call the parents of the 13 who died in Afghanistan.

Worse, Biden minimized Laken’s death, saying, “How many of the thousands of people being killed by illegals?”

So, according to Biden, it’s OK for a young UGA college student to die, since thousands of other Americans are also dying?

Of course, the ladies of MSNBC laughed about it, mocking voters who said that the border was their number one issue. Their lack of empathy at the suffering of victims was so shocking, that even CNN derided them.

Democrat (now Independent) Robert F Kennedy Jr. was also “dismayed”, saying, “What’s happening at the border would be unsustainable and unacceptable for any country.” Later, he added, “It’s not racist to say that the Mexican drug cartel should not be controlling U. S. Border policy.”

Then, Biden insisted that crime is down and you and I are safe.

If so, then why is the Governor of New York deploying the National Guard in NYC subways? And why are Leftist mayors all over the nation reversing their “defund the police” policies?

Overall, Biden’s speech was resentful and angry, without a single attempt at unity.

The Republican response, on the other hand, was brilliant. Speaking from her own kitchen table, Alabama Senator Katie Britt spoke directly to mothers. Her message was an acknowledgment of what we know to be true: “Our communities are less safe, and our country is less secure.”

Britt began by noting that Biden was elected to the Senate before she was born. She explained how “out of touch” he was, and how “families are worse off”.

It’s true: every American family spends an additional $11,000 a year more than they did before Biden. His reckless spending ($6 Trillion in new monies) caused record inflation (up 17 percent overall) which caused record credit card debt.

American families have never been in more debt and home mortgages have doubled during Biden.

Biden spent more time talking about potato chips than he did about the border. But both Britt and Kennedy reminded us that Biden could close the border today with a stroke of his pen. “Biden didn’t just create this border crisis,” she said, “he invited it,” with the 94 executive orders that he signed when he first took office.

Since then, some 10 million undocumented migrants have illegally entered our country, some 100,000 Americans a year have died of fentanyl, some 250,000 children have been lost and are probably now sex slaves, hundreds of people on the terrorist watch list and thousands of “persons of interest” have crossed illegally, and a massive crime wave is ripping through our nation.

In a related story, it was just reported that the crime rate in Venezuela is at a historic low.

I wonder where all their criminals went?

Dave Belton is a former state representative for District 112, which includes portions of Morgan and Newton counties.