Staff Reports
Philadelphia Councilman Nicolas O’Rourke took a swing at President Joe Biden following his State of the Union address, waving a caution flag for the President that he’s at risk of alienating the very folks who put him in power four years prior.
“State of the Union 2024: Progressive response slams Biden for ‘endangering coalition’ that elected him” Wow, even the socialist prog libs didn’t like Biden’s $h!+ show last night.??https://t.co/bsakAlVHpV
— Brandon aka Joe Biden is not our president (@1KAG007) March 8, 2024
O’Rourke, a card-carrying member of the Working Families Party, was handpicked to dish out the progressive rebuttal to Biden’s speech, and he didn’t hold back. He griped about two major issues: the strife in Gaza and the situation at the southern border, calling them “humanitarian crises” as he called out Biden and his posse.
“Hey, Philadelphians, including those WFP voters, helped launch Joe Biden into the Oval Office in 2020,” the Philly councilman hollered at the beginning of his spiel. “Tonight, we’re serving up a message for the president.”
O’Rourke threw shade at the Gaza conflict and the immigration policies from the Trump era, batting them away as “out of whack” with their values, and scolded Biden for “jeopardizing the coalition that put you in the driver’s seat in the first place, the same coalition you need to rally once more.”
But wait, there’s a silver lining according to the progressive bigwig – Biden still has a shot at “uniting that coalition” if he “heeds the calls from the people.”
One of the fresh faces on the Philadelphia City Council scene, Nicolas O’Rourke bellows a hymn as he wraps up his speech at the council’s first regular meet of the year Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024. (Tom Gralish/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)
O’Rourke tackled a bunch of topics that strike a chord with the game plan of progressive leaders, like funnelling more support to overlooked communities and slamming the arms flow to Israel. From where he’s standing, the Biden posse is “still coming up short” on these and other key issues. The bold leader even brought up Jesus, quoting, “In the words of that brown-skinned Palestinian Jew named Jesus,” the country should be measured by how it lifts up people who can’t fend for themselves.
“Hey, I hope you’re tuning in, sir,” O’Rourke addressed Biden as he stressed that progressives’ beef with Republicans shouldn’t blind them from holding the Democratic posse accountable when it “comes up way short.”
He even tossed Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s (I-AZ) retirement into the mix and waved to the likes of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) in his message to “rally the troops” to get more progressives into Congress.
O’Rourke snagged a spot on the Philadelphia City Council last fall, boasting that he and his pals bum-rushed seats “controlled by Republicans for ages.” O’Rourke’s invitation to take on the progressive response role signals the party’s hunt for the next big cheese in charge.
