MARCH 7—Tonight, President Joe Biden delivered his final State of the Union address before the 2024 election. The President made an appeal to the nation that is facing many historic crises and challenges which have worsened under his administration.

Republican Party of New Mexico Chairman and former Congressman Steve Pearce gave the following remarks following the President's speech:

"The President's address was riddled with inaccuracies, deflection of responsibility, and hollow promises. When New Mexicans see the increase in their cost of living, the alarming crime rates, and the ongoing border crisis, it's clear the state of the union is in decline.

President Biden's portrayal of the nation was very different than what the majority of the country is feeling and seeing. It's not surprising that Americans just aren't buying it.

According to a recent Gallup poll, fewer than four in ten voters say President Biden deserves to be elected.

76% of voters, including half of registered Democrats, say Biden's mental and physical fitness is a major concern.

The President spoke about reducing costs and taxes, but his actions throughout his presidency reveal his true intentions. Food prices have increased by 21%, rent has gone up by 19.4%, and electricity has seen a hike of 28.6% under his administration.

In February, credit card debt hit an all-time high of $1.13 trillion. Despite the President's claim that the economy is the ‘envy of the world', JP Morgan predicts that nearly all Americans will be financially worse off by mid-2024 than before the pandemic.

The President hypocritically accused Republicans of advocating for the wealthiest Americans; however, it's the 1% who are thriving under ‘bidenomics' while the rest of the country is struggling financially.

The President exposed his blatant disregard for the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens by calling for a gun ban that would include almost every hunting rifle in New Mexico. The people who own guns that follow the law are not the problem. Criminals are the problem, gangs are the problem, and drugs are the problem. The President does not have a plan other than to disarm law-abiding citizens.

The President deflected his responsibility in creating the crisis at the border and ignored his executive authority to end it. New Mexico is on the front lines of the southern border crisis that Biden initiated on day one of his presidency. Within his first one-hundred days in office, the President took ninety-four executive actions reversing President Trump's border security policies.

As a result, 7.2 million illegal immigrants and 27 tons of fentanyl have been released into our country along with terrorists and violent criminals, including the illegal immigrant who took the life of Laken Riley, a twenty-two-year-old nursing student who attended Agusta University.

The president said we are safer in the country now. Tell that to the people in Albuquerque, tell that to the families of Laken Riley or the two-year-old boy who was killed by an illegal immigrant, tell that to New Mexicans who have lost loved ones to fentanyl.

The message we want voters to hear is it doesn't have to be this way.

President Trump will secure the border, implement prosperous economic policies, achieve American energy independence again, and restore peace among our international allies. We have a responsibility to get out the vote this November and save our country before it's too late."

The Republican Party of New Mexico (RPNM) advances the ideals of individual liberties for the advancement of its citizens and the greater prosperity of our communities throughout New Mexico. Led by an Executive Board and its Chairman, former NM Congressman Steve Pearce, RPNM serves all New Mexicans via its headquarters in Albuquerque and can be contacted at (505) 298-3662.