U.S. President Joe Biden hosts a virtual roundtable on securing critical minerals at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 22, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

WASHINGTON, March 1 (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden will accuse Russian President Vladimir Putin of misjudging the West with an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and will tout his inflation-fighting plan in his speech on Tuesday on the State of the Union.

Annual address to Congress gives Biden, a Democrat, a chance to highlight his agenda, reassure Americans concerned about COVID-19 and the economy, and seek to boost his declining poll numbers with a demonstration of presidential pump.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has dominated White House time in recent weeks, shaping the focus of the speech as the president is determined to unite Americans around a global effort to punish Moscow and support Kiev.

“Throughout our history, we have learned this lesson – when dictators don’t pay the price for their aggression, they cause more chaos. They keep moving forward. And the costs and threats to America and the world keep growing,” Biden will say, according to excerpts of his address released by the White House.

Biden will say Putin avoided efforts to prevent war.

“Putin’s war was premeditated and unprovoked. He rejected diplomatic efforts. He thought the West and NATO would not respond. And, he thought he could divide us here at home,” Biden will say . “Putin was wrong. We were ready.”

Battling rising inflation exacerbated by the Russian crisis and beset by Republicans who have accused him of leaving it out of control, Biden will call on companies to make more cars and semiconductors in the United States .

“We have a choice. One way to fight inflation is to drive down wages and make Americans poorer. I have a better plan to fight inflation,” Biden will say. “Instead of relying on foreign supply chains, let’s do it in America… My plan to fight inflation will lower your costs and reduce the deficit.”

Biden and his fellow Democrats risk losing control of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate in the Nov. 8 midterm elections. A slight increase in Biden’s approval ratings could help prevent that and bolster his chances of sticking to his agenda.

Public opinion polls have shown Biden to have been out of favor with the majority of Americans for months.

Americans’ approval of Biden’s response to the Russian invasion has risen over the past week, with 43% saying they approve in a Reuters/Ipsos poll taken on Tuesday, up from 34% last week. However, some 47% disapproved of Biden’s response to the crisis, and his overall popularity has held near the low point of his presidency in recent weeks.

Even with a 4% unemployment rate, most voters remain pessimistic about the economy, largely due to soaring consumer prices. A quarter of Democrats believe the party has failed to leverage its rare control of the White House and both houses of Congress. Read more

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, who will deliver the Republican response to Biden’s speech, will denounce his handling of the Ukraine crisis and soaring US inflation.

“Instead of moving America forward, it feels like President Biden and his party sent us back in time to the late 70s and early 80s. When runaway inflation was hammering families, a wave of violent crime was descending on our cities, and the Soviet army was trying to redraw the map of the world,” she will say, according to excerpts.

Republicans say the country hasn’t moved quickly enough to ease coronavirus pandemic restrictions as case numbers drop. More than 2,000 Americans die from COVID every day, according to the latest 7-day average, the most of any country in the world.

On Tuesday, members of Congress attending Biden’s speech on the U.S. Capitol will not be required to wear masks for the first time in months, a sight that could provide a useful lens for the president.

Authorities reinstalled fencing around the Capitol ahead of planned protests by truckers against pandemic restrictions, but it doesn’t appear the convoys would cause major disruption. Read more

Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, was due to attend the speech, seated with the president’s wife, Jill Biden. So will Intel Corp CEO Pat Gelsinger as the Biden administration seeks to show its efforts to bolster chip supply.

Reporting by Jeff Mason and Trevor Hunnicutt; Additional reporting by Steve Holland, Jason Lange, James Oliphant, Makini Brice, Alexandra Alper and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Heather Timmons, Rosalba O’Brien and Howard Goller

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