President Joe Biden used his farewell address to the nation Wednesday to issue dire warnings against an “oligarchy” of the ultra-rich taking root in the country and a “techno-industrial complex” that is undermining the rights of Americans and to the future of democracy.
Speaking from the Oval Office as he prepares to hand over power Monday to President-elect Donald Trump, Biden took what will likely be his final opportunity to address the country before leaving the White House to highlight the accumulation of power and wealth in the country. The United States among just a few.
“Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our fundamental rights and freedoms, and everyone’s ability to advance.” , Biden said, drawing attention to “a dangerous danger.” concentration of power in the hands of a few ultra-rich people and dangerous consequences if their abuse of power is not checked.
Invoking President Dwight Eisenhower’s warnings about the rise of a military-industrial complex when he left office in 1961, Biden added: “I am also concerned about the potential rise of a techno-industrial complex that could also present real dangers for our country. .”
Biden used his 15-minute speech to offer a model for the peaceful transfer of power and — without mentioning Trump by name — to express concerns about his successor.
It’s a stark warning from Biden, who is leaving the national stage after more than 50 years in public life, as he has struggled to define his legacy and strengthen the country against the return of Trump in the Oval Office. This time, the president, who has repeatedly called Trump a threat to the country’s system of governance, went even further, warning Americans to be vigilant for their freedoms and institutions in a turbulent era of technological change and rapid economics.
Biden has sounded the alarm about the oligarchy as some of the world’s richest individuals and titans of its tech industry have flocked to Trump’s side in recent months, particularly after his victory in November. Billionaire Elon Musk spent more than $100 million to help Trump get elected, and executives like Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos have donated to Trump’s inaugural committee and made pilgrimages to the club private Trump to Florida for audiences with the president-elect as they seek to curry favor. partner with its administration and shape its policies.
Biden’s Oval Office speech is the latest in a series of remarks on domestic policy and foreign relations that he has delivered that aim to cement his legacy and reshape Americans’ dark views of his tenure. Earlier in the day, he announced a long-awaited ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas that could end more than a year of bloodshed in the Middle East.
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“It will take time to fully feel the impact of what we have done together, but the seeds are planted, and they will grow and bloom for decades,” Biden said. This is a tacit acknowledgment that many Americans say they have yet to feel the impact of trillions of dollars spent on domestic initiatives.
At the same time that Biden was criticizing social media companies for forgoing fact-checking on their platforms, Trump’s new communications director and press secretary shared messages on pre-recorded speech. Biden blamed his poor public reputation on misinformation on social media and the difficulties he faced reaching voters in the modern, disaggregated media ecosystem.
Biden has proposed his own set of solutions to the problems he outlined: changing the tax code to ensure billionaires “pay their fair share,” eliminating the flow of hidden sources of money into political campaigns, setting mandates limited to 18 years for party members. the Supreme Court and ban members of Congress from trading stocks. His policy recommendations come as his political capital is at an all-time low as Biden prepares to exit the national stage, and after he has done little to advance these causes during his four years in office. power in the White House.
Federal Reserve data shows that the nation’s richest 0.1 percent together hold more than five times the wealth of the bottom 50 percent.
Biden is not leaving the White House as he hoped. He attempted to run for office, ignoring voters’ concerns that he would be 86 at the end of a second term. After stumbling during a debate with Trump, Biden withdrew from the race under pressure from his own party, and Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic nominee.
Wednesday night’s speech capped not only Biden’s presidency, but also his five decades in politics. He was once the nation’s youngest senator, at age 30, after being elected to represent his home state of Delaware in 1972.
Biden served as president in 1988 and 2008 before becoming Barack Obama’s vice president. After serving two terms, Biden was considered retired from politics. But he returned to prominence as an unlikely Democratic candidate in 2020, successfully ousting Trump from the White House.
As he underscored his own commitment to ensuring a peaceful transition of power, including holding briefings with Trump’s team and coordinating with the new administration on Middle East negotiations, Biden also called to a constitutional amendment to end the immunity of sitting presidents. This follows a Supreme Court ruling last year that granted Trump broad protections from criminal liability for his role in trying to overturn his 2020 loss to Biden.
Biden spoke from Resolute’s office, photos of his family visible behind him in the Oval Office. First lady Jill Biden, her son Hunter, some of her grandchildren, Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, sat watching.
As Biden spoke about Harris, saying she would become like family, the first lady walked over and grabbed his hand.
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