When Joe Biden ran for President, he promised to “restore the soul” of the United States of America, after four years of divisive and chaotic leadership under Donald Trump. Now, in just a few days, Biden will be handing the Oval Office to Trump. However, he still feels that his work for the country is unfinished.
In his 20-minute farewell address to the citizens of America on Wednesday night, Biden claimed that he was very optimistic about his promise to America. But what caught instant attention was his warnings about a “dangerous” concentration of power in the hands of some “tech-industrial complex” that spreads false news for profit. He also talks about how there is a need to end anonymous donations in politics.
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“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,” said Biden.
Biden, however, did not name the world’s richest person, Elon Musk or any of the other billionaires who supported Trump’s return to power. But he did have a message for them. He commented that Americans have stood up to the “robber barons” over a century ago consolidated power. Biden says, “They didn’t punish the wealthy, just made the wealthy play by the rules.”
“Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation enabling the abuse of power. The free press is crumbling. Editors are disappearing. Social media is giving up on fact-checking. The truth is smothered by lies told for power and profit”
President Joe Biden pic.twitter.com/plcfmn9y2S— Peter Stefanovic (@PeterStefanovi2) January 16, 2025
Biden sits behind the Resolute Desk for the prime-time speech. Biden had ticked off his work in the office, which jump-started the U.S. economy post-pandemic. It also boosted American manufacturing, generating millions of jobs and attempted to steer the country’s industrial sector away from fossil fuels. He felt that Americans do not have to choose between improving the economy and protecting the environment. “We are doing both,” he said.
Biden also highlighted strong forces that are constantly changing the culture and politics of America. These forces are also diluting the power that working Americans hold. He also took a dig at social media companies like Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta and Musk’s X, which decided to allow false information to spread freely on their platforms in disguise for freedom of speech.
“The truth is smothered by lies told for power and for profit,” Biden claimed. “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 surprisingly had prescriptions for the ailments he was diagnosed with. He called for an 18-year term limit for Supreme Court justices and remarked that the “dark money” donations that hide behind campaign contributions must be rooted out of politics. He said that the rise of artificial intelligence has the potential to have tremendous benefits, such as improving the treatment of cancer. However, the usage of AI needs to be safeguarded to protect our basic rights.
Four years ago, in the middle of a pandemic, we needed a leader with the character to put politics aside and do what was right. That’s what @JoeBiden did.
At a time when our economy was reeling, he drove what would become the world’s strongest recovery – with 17 million new… pic.twitter.com/Is3SX9DufE
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) January 16, 2025
After almost half a century of serving as a public servant, Biden ‘fared thee well’ and wished for the success of his successor. He said that, in the end, he wanted the country to succeed. “That’s why I’ve held my duty to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition of power,” said Biden. “The strength of our institutions and the character of our people matter and must endure,” Biden commented before leaving Americans with this final task: “It’s your turn to stand guard.”
