'Drowning' Biden is an 'economic illiterate,' Rep. Byron Donalds says in response to SOTU speech

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'Drowning' Biden is an 'economic illiterate,' Rep. Byron Donalds says in response to SOTU speech

Rep. Byron Donalds said Joe Biden's "bizarre" State of the Union address was a result of a "drowning" president trying to save his poll numbers.

"I thought the speech was bizarre," the Florida Republican told Fox News on Wednesday. "What you had is a president who's been drowning, everything he's done is wrong."

"He was grasping at straws and throwing out populist talking points, but there still was no facts or real information behind it," Donalds said.

"In the chamber, his delivery was frankly awful, and the imagery was not good," he continued. "And at the end of the day, he tried to hold onto the actual specifics of liberal policy while throwing out populist points just to save his presidency and to probably save his poll numbers."

President Joe Biden arrives to delivers his first State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on at the Capitol, Tuesday, March 1, 2022, in Washington, as Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., applaud. (Saul Loeb/Pool via AP) 

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Biden's speech was the most consequential of his life as U.S. inflation soars and as Eastern Europe devolves into war between Russia and Ukraine. Many members of Congress attending the speech wore small lapel ribbons of blue and yellow to show solidarity with Ukraine. 

"It's important for the American people to understand: we would not be in this place right now if Joe Biden had actually led six months ago," Donalds told Fox News.

He said the best part of Biden's speech was the "solidarity with Ukraine." Still, he questioned how "closing off Russian flights to the United States is going to help the Ukrainian people stop the onslaught from [Russian President] Vladimir Putin." 

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Aside from the international turmoil, Biden's speech also focused on domestic issues, with inflation reaching a 40-year high and gasoline prices hitting their highest level in eight years. In addition, a recent Fox News Poll put Biden's approval rating at 43% – the lowest of his presidency – with 37% approving of his handling of the economy.

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"The president went through some of the old class warfare talking points about paying your fair share," Donalds told Fox News. "He had the unmitigated gall to tell businesses they have to cut costs, but don't cut wages, just cut costs – and they're not allowed to raise prices either."

"This is someone who is an economic illiterate," Donalds continued. "He doesn't know how businesses actually work and operate and stay open and what allows for a business to hire people and help people earn more money over the life of their careers."

Representative Byron Donalds, a Republican from Florida, speaks during a House Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Subcommittee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, July 29, 2021. The hearing is titled, "Democracy in Danger: The Assault on Voting Rights in Texas." Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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Donalds said the state of the union is in "shambles" and pointed to the country's "wide open" borders, rampant inflation and small business owners that are still struggling.

"The state of the union is in crises, a crisis made by Joe Biden," he told Fox News.

The Florida Republican said the U.S. needs to become energy independent to hit Russia's economy.

"Why are we letting the oil and natural gas part of Russia continue to sell oil across the world?" Donalds said.

He pointed to Russia providing nearly 40% of the European Union's natural gas and 7% of the U.S.'s crude oil imports.

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"That's why," Donalds said. "If we're going to get serious, we cut off Russia's economy." 

President Joe Biden delivers his first State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 1, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Pool)

"America needs to be energy independent," Donalds added. "If we do that and fully embrace it, we can help our European allies with their energy needs."

Donalds said the U.S. has "more than enough energy resources" in the country for America and its European allies.

Kelly Laco and Marisa Schultz contributed to this report.