Biden will speak on Ukraine, ‘optimism’ in State of the Union

President Biden will speak about the Russian invasion of Ukraine during Tuesday’s State of the Union address, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said, but he will also send a message of optimism.

ABC’s “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos asked Psaki on Sunday how Biden’s address had changed with the invasion of Ukraine this past week.

“I think there’s no question that in the State of the Union, the American people and anybody watching around the world will hear the president talk about the efforts he has led over the past several months to build a global coalition to fight against the autocracy and the efforts of President Putin to invade a foreign country,” Psaki said.

“But what people will also hear from President Biden is his optimism and his belief in the resilience of the American people and the strength of the American people,” she added.

Psaki noted that the State of the Union is about delivering a message at a specific moment in time. She pointed to former President Obama giving his first State of the Union in the midst of the Great Recession and former President George W. Bush giving his first address just months after the 9/11 attack.

According to Psaki, while Biden will acknowledge the crisis in Ukraine, he would also speak on “what we all have to look forward to.”