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Arizona delegation responds to Biden's 1st State of the Union address

At President Joe Biden’s first State of the Union address, he denounced Russia for its invasion of Ukraine while also promising to alleviate pain for Americans. Arizona lawmakers were watching, too, with mixed reactions. Both parties applauded Biden’s resolve on Ukraine, but were split on his economic message.

“I’ll continue to challenge this President and this White House to provide a much more detailed plan as to how we’re gonna fight the illicit drugs that are crossing our border," said Greg Stanton, a Democrat representing Arizona's 9th Congressional District in Phoenix.

Stanton said Biden took steps to address the economy, but failed to give a detailed border plan.

David Schweikert, a Republican representative from Scottsdale, said the address inflated the administration's accomplishments.

"The president laid out some strong steps that he's taking to improve the American economy. His statements were actually delusional and not truthful," Schweikert said.

Some members of the Arizona delegation were impressed by the speech. Ann Kirkpatrick, a Democrat from Tucson, applauded President Biden's plans for boosting the economy.

"He has presented a new economic vision, to grow the economy from the bottom-up and the middle-out, not the top-down, and he'll do that," Kirkpatrick said. 

Athena Ankrah is an assistant producer for KJZZ's The Show.Ankrah graduated from Arizona State University in 2023 with a bachelor’s in journalism and a second degree in Chicano media and expressive culture.