Joe Biden expected to emphasise reassurance in State of the Union address

President Joe Biden will deliver his second State of the Union address on Tuesday (Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool via AP, File)

President Joe Biden is ready to offer a reassuring assessment of the nation’s condition rather than roll out flashy policy proposals as he delivers his second State of the Union address on Tuesday night seeking to overcome pessimism in the country and concerns about his own leadership.

His speech before a politically divided Congress comes as the nation struggles to make sense of confounding cross-currents at home and abroad — economic uncertainty, a wearying war in Ukraine, growing tensions with China among them — and warily sizes up Biden’s fitness for a likely re-election bid.