When he ran for President, Joe Biden promised to “restore the soul” of the country after four years of Donald Trump’s divisive and chaotic leadership. Now, in a few short days, he’s handing the Oval Office back to Trump—though he clearly feels like his work is unfinished.
In a 20-minute farewell address to the nation Wednesday night, Biden said he was optimistic about the promise of America. But he warned about a “dangerous” concentration of power in the country in the hands of a few, a “tech-industrial complex” that spreads false information for profit, and the need to end anonymous donations in politics. “Today an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead,” Biden said.
Biden didn’t name the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, or the other billionaires who have supported Trump’s return to power. But he had a message for them nonetheless. He said that Americans stood up to the “robber barons” who consolidated power over a century ago. “They didn’t punish the wealthy, just made the wealthy play by the rules,” Biden said.
Sitting behind the Resolute Desk for the prime time address, Biden ticked off his work in office jump-starting the U.S. economy after the pandemic, boosting American manufacturing, creating millions of jobs, and trying to steer the country’s industrial sector away from fossil fuels. He said that Americans don’t have to choose between protecting the environment and improving the economy. “We are doing both.”
Biden highlighted turbulent forces that are changing American culture and politics and diluting the power of working Americans. He took aim at social media companies, like Musk’s X and Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, that have decided to allow false information to spread freely on their platforms. “The truth is smothered by lies told for power and for profit,” Biden said. “Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation enabling the abuse of power. The free press is crumbling, others are disappearing, social media has given up on fact checking.”
Biden had some prescriptions for the ailments he diagnosed. He called for 18-year term limits for Supreme Court justices and said that “dark money” donations hidden behind campaign contributions need to be rooted out of politics. He said that the dawn of artificial intelligence could have tremendous benefits—like improving the treatment of cancer—but needs safeguards to protect our basic rights.
After nearly half a century as a public servant, Biden wished success for his successor’s administration, he said, because he wants the country to succeed. “That’s why I’ve held my duty to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition of power,” Biden said, a duty that Trump did not follow when Biden came into office in the wake of Trump’s unwillingness to acknowledge the 2020 election results and his repeated efforts to overturn Biden’s win.
“The strength of our institutions and the character of our people matter and must endure,” Biden said, before leaving Americans with this final task: “It’s your turn to stand guard.”
