Biden’s 2022 State of the Union: Confuses Ukrainians With Iranians, Says “A Pound of People,” Ends With Mysterious “Go Get Him”

On 3/1/2022, President Biden delivered his first official State of the Union address amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, inflation at a 40-year high, and his approval rating at historic lows. The speech was marked by verbal stumbles — confusing Ukrainians with Iranians, saying “a pound of people” instead of “proud people,” and mispronouncing his own Supreme Court nominee’s name. Biden ended with the mysterious phrase “go get him” that puzzled viewers. Analysts said the speech “didn’t age well” and was “totally out of step” with where Americans were.

Ukrainians Become Iranians

In the most prominent gaffe of the evening, Biden confused Ukrainians with Iranians while discussing Putin’s invasion. “A pound of Ukrainian people — the proud, proud people, pound for pound, ready to fight — Putin may circle Kiev with tanks, but he’ll never gain the hearts and souls of the Iranian people,” Biden said. “He’ll never extinguish their love of freedom.”

The substitution of “Iranian” for “Ukrainian” — in the most high-profile speech of his presidency, on the defining foreign policy crisis of his term — immediately drew attention.

”Go Get Him”

Biden closed with: “God bless you all and may God protect our troops. Thank you. Go get him.” An analyst noted: “A strange moment at the end where he said ‘go get him.’ That was audible to the audience and we’re not quite sure what he means.”

The phrase raised questions about whether Biden was ad-libbing a message about Putin or had simply lost his place.

”Can’t Build a Wall High Enough to Keep Out a Vaccine”

Biden made an unusual statement about immigration and public health. “Because you can’t build a wall high enough to keep out a vaccine,” he said — apparently arguing against border walls by conflating border security with vaccine distribution, though the logic was unclear.

Inflation: “I Get It”

Biden acknowledged inflation directly. “With all the bright spots in our economy, too many families are struggling to keep up with their bills. Inflation is robbing them of gains they thought otherwise they would be able to feel. I get it. That’s why my top priority is getting prices under control,” Biden said.

His solution was the same stalled agenda. “My plan would cut the cost of childcare in half for most families,” Biden said, citing the Build Back Better provisions that had failed to pass Congress. He again cited “17 Nobel laureates in economics” who said his plan would “ease long-term inflationary pressures.”

He repeated his tax pledge: “Nobody earning less than $400,000 a year will pay an additional penny in new taxes. Not a single penny.”

Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Biden announced 30 million barrels from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve as part of a coordinated 60-million-barrel global release. “These steps will help blunt gas prices here at home,” Biden said. “But I know news about what’s happening can seem alarming to all Americans. But I want you to know we’re going to be okay. We’re going to be okay.”

Fact-Checked in Real Time

Biden claimed the 2017 tax cuts “benefited the top 1% of Americans” — a claim the Washington Post had already given three Pinocchios. An analyst noted in real time: “Straight into something that has already been given three Pinocchios by the Washington Post, which is a lie about the 2017 tax cuts. That it only went to help 1% of Americans. That’s not me saying that. That’s the Washington Post."

"A Speech That Won’t Age Well”

One analyst delivered a prescient assessment. “I hope we don’t say it didn’t — I hope we say, oh, it was about right. But I fear this is going to feel like a speech that didn’t age well,” the analyst said.

Mispronouncing His Own Nominee

Biden again stumbled over his Supreme Court nominee’s name. “I’ve nominated the Circuit Court of Appeals, Katanji Brown Jackson,” Biden said — the same mispronunciation he had made at the Black History Month event days earlier.

Border and Immigration

Biden called for securing the border and fixing immigration in broad terms. “If we are to advance liberty and justice, we need to secure our border and fix the immigration system,” he said, calling for “a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers” and claiming “immigration reform is supported by everyone from labor unions, the religious leaders, to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.”

Key Takeaways

• Biden confused Ukrainians with Iranians in the speech’s most prominent passage about Putin’s invasion, saying Putin would “never gain the hearts and souls of the Iranian people.”
• He ended the speech with the unexplained phrase “go get him” that puzzled viewers and analysts.
• Biden acknowledged “inflation is robbing” families but offered the same stalled Build Back Better agenda as his solution.
• He released 30 million barrels from the SPR as part of a 60-million-barrel global release to “blunt gas prices.”
• Analysts said the speech was “out of step” with reality and reflected Biden’s declining approval even among Democrats.

Transcript Highlights

The following is transcribed from the video audio (unverified — AI-generated from audio).

• A pound of Ukrainian people, the proud, proud people — he’ll never gain the hearts and souls of the Iranian people.
• God bless you all. Go get him. A strange moment — we’re not quite sure what he means.
• You can’t build a wall high enough to keep out a vaccine.
• Inflation is robbing them of gains they thought they would be able to feel. I get it. My top priority is getting prices under control.
• Straight into something that has already been given three Pinocchios by the Washington Post.
• I fear this is going to feel like a speech that didn’t age well.

Full transcript: 1130 words transcribed via Whisper AI.