In this statement, President Joe Biden is directly responding to Texas law SB8; a new law recently implemented in Texas that bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, and allows individual citizens to sue anyone who performs an abortion after this time frame. I believe that President Biden is credible because the issue being addressed is a political one. He has been a politician for nearly fifty years, and is therefore educated on and experienced with laws, constitutional rights, and Supreme Court cases, as well as with forming opinions based on knowledge of such.

President Biden’s stance towards Texas law SB8 is one of complete disapproval. He refers to the law as an “extreme” one that “blatantly” violates the rights of Americans, and this diction emphasizes his opinion that the law is both unnecessary and obviously illicit. Additionally, his inclusion of specific negative consequences of the law, such as how it will bring difficulty towards health care for women, highlights his clear frustration with it.

President Biden’s target audience is both American citizens as well as politicians that aided in enacting this law. By expressing his deep disapproval of the law, he is condemning the politicians involved as well as voicing his support to the citizens that are against the law. This ties into his overall purpose of releasing the statement; he wants the politicians to feel as though they have breached their responsibility as American leaders by “violat[ing] the constitutional right” of citizens, and he wants to assert his leadership over the general public by promising to “protect and defend” their rights. By highlighting his commitment to protecting Americans, Biden is attempting to create a more hopeful and unified atmosphere, rather than one of defeat that may have followed the enactment of the law. This idea is further enhanced by the fact that the genre of this text is a public statement. Biden is utilizing his ability to communicate to the masses to serve as a testament to the powerful role the president plays in creating a unified nation.