Fox News host Sean Hannity dubbed President Biden “Jacked-up Joe” on Thursday night after what he called a “hyper-caffeinated” State of the Union address, painting a sharp contrast to former President Trump’s derisive nickname of “Sleepy Joe” for his likely 2024 rival.
“Tonight, America saw, let’s say, a very different Joe Biden, I might call him ‘Jacked-up Joe,’ and that’s being charitable,” Hannity said on Fox News following the speech. “He sounded like a hyper-caffeinated, angry old man.”
Biden spoke for more than an hour before a joint session of Congress, often shouting at Republicans over issues such as abortion and border inaction, and repeatedly calling out his predecessor Trump, without naming him.
The president also sparred with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) over Laken Riley, a Georgia college student who police say was killed last month by an immigrant who entered the country illegally.
Hannity argued that Biden used the speech to lay out his “radical wish list for America” and that his speech was “so hyped up it was bizarre.” He quipped that unlike Biden, he would not “be shouting for the whole hour” of his post-address show.
The conservative commentator has long criticized Biden, 81, for his age, mental and physical competencies and performance as president. He said the State of the Union address was “so at odds with everyday Joe” that it was “frightening.”
“He spent most of the night shouting, speeding through the speech and clearly overcompensating from the normal everyday Joe that can barely string two sentences together,” Hannity said.
Others welcomed Biden’s energy in the annual speech. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said Biden “came out SWINGING” in his address.
“Just a knock out speech. Way to go, Mr. President,” Murphy posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough said Biden’s performance was a “tour de force.”
“I’ve sat through a lot of things, and I have never seen one side put in so many uncomfortable positions as the Republicans were last night,” Scarborough said Friday in comments highlighted by Mediaite.
“Because they were on the wrong side of history. They were on the wrong side of the polls. They were on the wrong side of politics. They were on the wrong side of decency.”
Trump also weighed in with real-time reactions to Biden’s address, and an interview with Fox News Digital on Thursday night.
“He was angry, mentally disturbed, and misrepresenting a lot of the facts concerning almost every subject he discussed,” Trump reportedly said.
“But he got through it. He is still breathing, and they didn’t have to carry him out in a straight jacket,” he added. “Other than that, I think he did a terrible job.”