Brookhaven Daily Leader
 
‘Do we feel secure?’ — Hyde-Smith responds to State of the Union address

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith responds to Biden's second State of the Union address.
 
By Daily Leader Staff
 
U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), of Brookhaven, in response to President Biden’s second State of the Union address, tonight said there are solid reasons why the American people are expressing dissatisfaction with their current situation — all of it linked to not feeling secure.
 
“There are solid reasons why more than 40 percent of Americans say they are worse off today than when President Biden took office, and why more than 70 percent of Americans believe the nation is on the wrong track,” Hyde-Smith said. “Despite the President’s telling, I believe the concerns felt by many Mississippians and their fellow Americans are rooted in whether we feel secure — in our homes, in our communities, in our futures, and as a nation.”
 
Hyde-Smith blamed the President and his administration’s handling of national defense, border security, crime, energy, and the economy for the unease expressed by Americans.
 
“At the start of his term two years ago, President Biden promised to unite the American people — a noble goal,” Hyde-Smith said. “In order to achieve that, I believe it’s imperative that he adjust his outlook, abandon his my-way-or-the-highway governing style, and truly work with us to turn the country around and restore a sense of security that we expect as citizens of this great nation.”
 
Read Hyde-Smith’s complete statement:
 
Good evening.  As we consider President Biden’s State of the Union address, I think we should consider what we expect from the federal government — and how the President and his administration are not meeting those expectations at all.
 
There are solid reasons why more than 40 percent of Americans say they are worse off today than when President Biden took office, and why more than 70 percent of Americans believe the nation is on the wrong track.
 
Despite the President’s telling, I believe the concerns felt by many Mississippians and their fellow Americans are rooted in whether we feel secure — in our homes, in our communities, in our futures, and as a nation.
 
Let’s consider.
 
Do we feel secure when we see our strong military subjected to political correctness as our adversaries grow emboldened enough to float a spy balloon across the country?
 
Do we feel secure when we’re forced to ask tyrants in Iran, Venezuela, and elsewhere for oil while our Strategic Petroleum Reserve is sapped and American energy production restricted?
 
Do we feel secure when we see U.S. border security fail — resulting in more than 4.6 million illegal border crossings in just two years and record levels of fentanyl flowing across the border and into our communities?
 
Do we feel secure when we see law enforcement diminished while violent crime rates escalate from coast to coast?
 
And as we deal with our everyday lives, do we feel secure as inflation fueled by runaway federal spending wipes out wage gains for 22 straight months — stretching our paychecks and eroding our savings?
 
Given all that, the President surely understands why so many Americans don’t feel secure.
 
At the start of his term two years ago, President Biden promised to unite the American people — a noble goal.
 
In order to achieve that, I believe it’s imperative that he adjust his outlook, abandon his my-way-or-the-highway governing style, and truly work with us to turn the country around and restore a sense of security that we expect as citizens of this great nation.
 
Thank you and God bless America.