As Biden Preps State of the Union, Here’s What One NC Woman Had to Say About His Performance

Infrastructure, racial injustice, and the economy were major considerations as the Washington Post interviewed Biden supporters on the president’s first year.

“We may not see the real benefits of Biden being in office until he’s gone.” 

That’s what Durham’s Bonita Green told The Washington Post this weekend. The paper spoke with supporters of President Joe Biden as he prepares to deliver his first State of the Union address Tuesday night.

The president is expected to talk about the global crisis spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as the pandemic, economic recovery, and infrastructure after a year in office. 

Infrastructure was a major point for Green, who lives in a Durham neighborhood that’s in need of upgrades to its roadway, sidewalks, traffic signals, and more. Many neighborhoods like these, particularly neighborhoods with a high concentration of Black residents, have been overlooked by both parties over the decades, the paper noted. 

Green said she was disappointed the infrastructure bill wasn’t larger. Democrats shrank the bill because of opposition by Republicans and conservative Democrats in DC. 

From the Washington Post report:

Green, who heads her neighborhood association, watched the debate over the infrastructure bill with anger and frustration. As Republicans tried to shrink it and liberal Democrats tried to tie it to a concurrent social spending agreement, she wondered why Congress couldn’t just approve a plan that was so evidently needed.

“Why can’t a thing just be a thing?” she said. “Why does everybody have to try to roll other stuff underneath the bill?”

Other concerns raised include racial justice issues, the pandemic recovery, and the president’s Build Back Better legislation, which stalled because of unanimous opposition from the GOP and Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin.