SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – President Biden will deliver the annual State of the Union address Tuesday night, aiming to make the case to Americans that the country stands in a strong place. However, it’s not going to be easy for Biden.

Biden is set to address top concerns of the American people from inflation and the war in Ukraine to the ongoing pandemic and rising tensions with China.

“This is almost a script written for a movie that he’s got to deal with tonight,” said Political Consultant Tony Cignoli. This will be the first time Biden delivers the important speech to a divided Congress and Cignoli says there’s a lot at stake, “There’s that line that he’s well-familiar with as a long-time politician, that politics is perception and not reality. He’s got to find a way to join those two things this evening and make clear to people, things are okay, we are heading in the right direction.”

One of the most pressing matters on the agenda, the state of the economy. Here in western Massachusetts, people are feeling the pinch of economic hardship.

“Middle class families, I mean they can’t make a living right now and buy groceries, or senior citizens can’t afford to buy groceries or pay for their medications,” said Susan Muncy of West Springfield.

According to one NBC poll, only 36-percent of U.S. adults approve of Biden’s handling of the economy.

“Because if we look at our own economic news of the region, western Mass., even Northern Connecticut, there’s been a lot of strange things economically… LEGO leaving, etc. All that, these things are concerning to people here,” said Cignoli.

Tuesday night’s speech is expected to be a “blueprint” for Biden’s potential 2024 campaign as he focuses on his administration’s wins of the past two years.

“It’s a speech that people will be weighing out to assess what his physical and mental capacity is, not just as president, but gosh, if he is considering running for re-election as well,” said Cignoli.