As he prepared for his biggest speech of the year, Joe Biden had a lot to prove.

The ageing president is down in the polls, unpopular with many of his own voters, and struggling to pass legislation to control illegal migration and fund Ukraine’s war effort.

The White House spent months preparing for the State of the Union, and on Thursday night the President’s careful planning paid off.

In his hour’s address to both houses of Congress, his Cabinet, Supreme Court justices and senior military officers, Mr Biden avoided the senior moments and gaffes that have plagued his last three years in office.

The 81-year-old attempted to make a virtue of his age, presenting himself as a child of the Second World War who had seen decades of American freedom in action.

“The issue facing our nation isn’t how old we are, it’s how old our ideas are,” he said, citing Ronald Reagan and Franklin D Roosevelt as presidents that had stood up to authoritarian regimes.

Using a line often wheeled out by Republicans, he quoted Mr Reagan’s 1982 demand of the USSR: “Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

At times, Mr Biden was angry in the delivery of his core message: that American democracy is under threat from the man referred to only as “my predecessor”.

Donald Trump was presented as a danger to the nation who would undermine elections, sabotage the fight for minority rights and help Vladimir Putin in his pursuit of territory in Europe.

“Not since President Lincoln and the Civil War have freedom and democracy been under assault here at home as they are today,” he said.

There was also an attempt to rescue his reputation among young liberals who have opposed his stance on the war in Gaza.

Addressing the Israeli government, the President highlighted the death toll of Palestinians since October 7, arguing: “humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip”.

There were glimmers of the Biden we know well. He fluffed a line on drug prices by accidentally encouraging Americans to fly to Moscow to get cheaper prescriptions, and stumbled over some of his words as he tried to maintain the speech’s pace.

Marjorie Taylor Greene delivered a trademark heckle, raising the death of Laken Riley, a college student who was killed by a suspected illegal migrant last month. In response, Mr Biden mistakenly referred to the young woman as “Lincoln”.

But the shuffling, confused president sometimes seen in press conferences and campaign stops was left at the door.

Much of his performance can almost certainly be attributed to the controlled environment, heavy preparation and carefully scripted remarks.

Mr Biden has a long way to go until November, and there are already calls for him to debate Mr Trump live in a head-to-head event that will challenge his mental agility.

On Thursday, the president showed he – sometimes – still has what it takes to make a forceful case for a second term.

His supporters will be left asking: can he keep it up?