President Biden is set to deliver his first State of the Union address on Tuesday night, and White House aides are already previewing the speech for reporters.

The Washington Post reports that, as you might expect, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has forced the White House to revise the speech, which the administration had hoped to serve as a reset for Biden’s presidency. The changes, Annie Linskey and Tyler Pager say, “will reflect the way the crisis has added urgency to Biden’s running theme of defending democracies, according to one adviser who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private talks.”

Still, the White House has made clear that the speech won’t go light on Biden’s domestic agenda, with the president touting the gains made since he took office, pitching the benefits to come from the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law he signed and laying out a four-point plan to strengthen the economy and tackle inflation (see more details here).

Biden will reportedly also call on Congress to pass legislation to improve the nation’s competitiveness with China, increase the maximum Pell Grant award by $2,000, raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour and establish a national paid family leave program.

Officials said that Biden will also talk about how any new plans should be paid for, with proposals to ensure that corporations and the wealthiest Americans “pay their fair share” and a call for Congress to both enact his agenda and reduce the deficit.

“We can do both. We can lower costs for families. We can lower the deficit at the same time,” administration officials insist, according to The Hill. “The reconciliation bill that is right now on the table would reduce the deficit. The ideas that he has put forward can be used to achieve both, and he’s calling on Congress to send him a piece of legislation that would do both.”

What about “Build Back Better”? “Biden aides briefing reporters on the speech Monday afternoon would not say whether Biden would mention his onetime signature legislation by name,” the Post’s Linskey and Pager report. Said one official: “It’s not about to name of the bill. It’s about the ideas. It’s about lowering costs to families, and I think you can expect to hear the president talk about those ideas.”

The bottom line: Biden’s got a lot to cover as he looks to boost his sagging poll numbers with Election Day just over six months away. But for as much attention as the address may get, the speech itself likely won’t matter nearly as much as events on the ground — here and abroad — in the coming months.

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