Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Michigan) said on Washington Watch Friday that Joe Biden's very campaign-centric State of the Union address Thursday evening showed contempt not only for Republicans but for Independents too.
On top of that, Christians who oppose the LGBTQ agenda and abortion weren't spared the bullseye from America's Catholic-professing president. Biden's reference to the Equality Act, proposed civil rights legislation, could have profound negative impacts on Christians in education, in public spaces and more.
Walberg, in his 16th year on Capitol Hill, told show host Jody Hice it was the most divisive State of the Union address he's ever heard.
"We walked off the floor Thursday night, a number of us conservatives, shocked, almost silent," the lawmaker shared. "Having sat at his inauguration a little over three years ago where he said 'I'm going to be the great uniter in this country …' – [it was clear to me on Thursday night] that wasn't a uniter. It was a destroyer of the foundations of this great country. He spoke to every issue that would destroy the traditional values, the principles upon which this country was founded and which God has blessed."
Walberg criticized Biden's breach of protocol for not allowing House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, to introduce the sitting president before the joint chambers of Congress.
"He just launched into a speech [that] was angry from that point on," Walberg said. "He launched into a campaign speech that [basically] said, 'Republicans, we don't want you.' I think he also [essentially] said 'Independents, we don't expect you to support us either. We're going to our radical Left.'"
Equality Act tilted one way
The radical Left is where Biden could expect to find support for the Equality Act, which aims to amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit alleged discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing, public accommodations, education, federally funded programs and jury service.
It was introduced and passed by the Nancy Pelosi-led House in 2019 but was never brought up in the Senate. Had it passed there, it would have been vetoed by then-President Donald Trump. The legislation has been reintroduced several times since, most recently last June.
"It's one of the most egregious pieces of legislation ever proposed," David Closson, the Family Research Council's director for the Center for Biblical Worldview, told Hice.
"It elevates the contested category of gender ideology to the same level as race and religion," he continued. "It specifically exempts itself from the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which Congress passed and President [Bill] Clinton signed into law in 1993.
"What that means is whenever every contested category of gender ideology and sexual orientation come into conflict with religious beliefs or religious doctrine, they will win. This is just massively problematic for Christian colleges and universities.
"Anyone who retains an orthodox belief and human sexuality, those claims of gender ideology are always going to win if the Equality Act comes into a law," Closson reiterated.
The Equality Act would also negatively impact the safety of young girls through the issue of biological males competing in girls' and women's sports, Closson said.
Proponents of the Equality Act are encouraged by numbers that show support for federal nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ individuals, The Hill reported. If Democrats gain favorable political winds in November – only the House keeps them from a ruling trifecta right now – they'll try to pass it into law.
"It would consign orthodox, Bible-believing, gospel-believing Christians to true second-class status in this country," Closson warned.
He noted that Biden's comments didn't linger on the subject of the Equality Act. "He spent way much more time on the culture of death and abortion, even chastising the Supreme Court and quoting to them in their face, on the Dobbs decision," Closson said.
Congressman Walberg explained that by nature, the State of the Union should be an address in which the president projects "strength." But Biden's delivery showed "anger and his lack of understanding" about many issues facing Americans, Walberg added.
One of those key issues to conservatives is Biden's failure to slow the flood of illegals coming across the southern border.
"He was overtly going through a checklist of things on the Democratic Party's wish list. I found it interesting that before he even got to the issue of the border, which is on everyone's mind, he talked about every issue under the sun – including Snickers bars," Closson noted.
A battle for sure … a spiritual battle
Biden told lawmakers he sees "competing forces in a battle for the soul of our nation."
While Closson agreed that a battle is indeed underway, he said Biden's strategic plan for the battle – in plain view during his State of the Union address – is concerning.
"It laid out for the whole nation to see what President Biden and his party believe are right and wrong, what should be morally permissible and what should be morally prohibited," he stated. "As Bible-believing Christians, I think we'll find ourselves at odds with almost every policy prescription the president laid out.
"As we approach election time, we need to be making sure we're taking every thought to the Lord, looking at what His Word says. I think if we do that, what we find in scripture really does contradict a lot of things we heard from the House of Representatives [Thursday] night," Closson said.
