WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden told Congress on Tuesday that the State of the Union is strong and getting stronger in his third annual prime-time address to the House since taking office and ahead of a possible announcement that he will run. Again for selection.

“We are the only country that has come out of every crisis stronger than before,” Biden said. “Look folks, we’re doing it again.”

Biden, whose approval numbers have risen significantly since last summer when more Americans disapproved than approved of him by a 20-point margin, took to the podium to boast about an economy that has brought back millions of jobs lost during the Covid-19 pandemic. And they could make millions more in the coming years. Thanks to his $2 trillion in high-tech, green energy and infrastructure investments during his two years in office.

Biden’s speech was his first with a new Republican majority in the House, and he made a point of congratulating Speaker Kevin McCarthy on his new role, turning to shake his hand and tell him he looked forward to working with him.

As a president for all Americans, he joked about how he would support investments in roads, bridges and energy projects in districts where Republicans voted against his plans. “We will fund your projects. And I will see you at the ground breaking,” he said.

Other times, though, he stopped as Republicans — Republican Marjorie Taylor Green of Georgia, chief among them — insulted him. When he accused some Republicans of wanting to cut Social Security and Medicare, dozens of Republicans claimed that was not true, even though Florida Sen. Rick Scott and others have publicly supported doing so.

That exchange prompted him to ad-lib a whole new section and thank Republicans that cuts to those programs are no longer on the table. “We have a consensus!”

As expected, Biden’s accomplishments in his first two years included the largest investments to date to address climate change. “Let’s face reality. The climate crisis doesn’t matter if you’re a red or blue state. It is an existential threat,” he said.

He put forward proposals to raise taxes on stock buybacks, stop businesses from charging “junk fees” for basic services, and make it easier to form unions.

He called on Congress to pass police reform, pointing to the parents of a black man in Memphis who was killed by police officers after a traffic stop. Telling the story of a 4-year-old cancer survivor, whose parents were also sitting in the gallery, he called for more funding for his “Cancer Moonshot” program.

He called the response by the United States and its NATO allies to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a “test for the ages” and vowed to stand by Ukraine “as long as it takes.”

He cited a Chinese spy balloon that crossed the country last week before being shot down by an Air Force fighter jet off the coast of South Carolina. “I am committed to working with China where it can advance American interests and benefit the world,” Biden said. “But make no mistake: As we made clear last week, if China threatens our sovereignty, we will defend our country. And we did.”

Biden, since taking office, has again referred to former President Donald Trump’s attempted coup on January 6, 2021, as a test of American democracy and reminded the country that the threat is not over. He pointed to former Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, who was attacked in his home by a man who bought Trump’s election lie.

“Such a despicable act should never have happened,” he said. “We must all speak up. Political violence has no place in America. In America we must protect the right to vote, not suppress that fundamental right. We honor the results of our elections, not bending the will of the people. We must uphold the rule of law and restore faith in the institutions of our democracy.

Biden, who turns 80 in November, has said for months that he intends to run for another term but has not been forced to make a firm decision until this year.

Last spring and summer, after the chaotic withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and rising inflation rates, Biden’s approval numbers dipped into the mid-30s. But after inflation eased, the Supreme Court struck down a national right to abortion, and former President Donald Trump inserted himself into the national conversation, Biden enjoyed the best midterm election performance of any president in decades.

Instead of gaining 40 or 50 seats as expected, Republicans narrowly won the House and lost one seat in the Senate — credit to Biden and his staff for their leadership.

“He has a record over the last two years that shows he has delivered,” White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre said.

As presidents have historically done, Biden has been and is taking credit for improvements in the economy that have little to do with his policies.

Entering office at the height of the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic, Biden takes office at a moment when both the economy and the government’s fiscal picture are nowhere to be seen. Millions returned to work, and the federal government phased out welfare payments to prevent businesses and their employees from going bankrupt, while the economy was largely shut down.

Today, nearly 12 million more Americans are working than on his inauguration day, while the federal deficit has fallen by $1.7 trillion.

However, the flip side of taking credit for the economy’s success is being responsible for its problems.

Most Americans, polls show, are worried about the economy, largely because of still-high inflation, despite record-low unemployment. Many economists believe that oil prices rose after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a year ago and all the cash the government put into Americans’ pockets to stave off depression during the pandemic.

Biden, of course, did not promote Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s offensive, and fully 67% of the $5.7 trillion the government has spent on Covid response and aid payments since March 2020 occurred before his administration.

Republican pollster Neil Newhouse said Americans’ dismay at the situation is understandable. “It’s not because people aren’t getting jobs, it’s because the money they’re being paid doesn’t go far enough to make ends meet or get ahead,” he said. “Financially walking isn’t enough for most Americans.”

David Axelrod, a Democratic consultant who helped Barack Obama win two terms for the presidency, agreed that the cost of living had been affected but also wondered how much discomfort the pandemic had left. “I believe that all of the pandemic has created a nagging concern about how our work practices and workplaces are designed that can lead to increased dissatisfaction,” he said.

Biden and his staff show that inflation is not limited to the United States and that we are better off than others. “You go around the world, if you talk to heads of state, see heads of state, chief executives, other leaders — they’ll tell you, you know, the United States is really in better shape than any other country,” said. Brian Dees, director of Biden’s National Economic Council.

More important to Biden’s success going forward are the concrete results of three important pieces of legislation he’s pushed through Congress since taking office: a $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan, the $280 billion Chips and Science Act to bring silicon microprocessor research and manufacturing back to the United States. and, most recently, the $485 billion “Inflation Reduction Act,” a large portion of which promotes alternative energy development.

“This is a year of action and investment and implementation where, in those areas,” Dees said, “you’re going to see this unfold in more and more ways.”