President Joe Biden warned of a looming “oligarchy” and a “dangerous concentration of power” in the hands of a few wealthy people that he said is threatening America’s democracy, in his farewell address on Wednesday.
“Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America, extreme wealth, power and influence that really threatens our entire democracy, basic rights, freedoms and a fair shot for everyone,” he said. “We see the consequences all across America, and we’ve seen it before, more than a century ago, that the American people stood up to the robber barons back then and busted the trust. They didn’t punish the wealthy. Just made the wealthy pay and play by the rules everybody else had.”
The outgoing president’s forceful words were an ominous endcap to his administration, which will give way next week to a Trump presidency already rife with billionaire influence from the likes of Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Larry Ellison and other unelected tech and financial titans who wield outsized power.
Biden elsewhere touted his administration’s accomplishments on job growth, gun control and healthcare coverage. He began his 20-minute remarks with the cease-fire hostage deal between Israel and Hamas that he said was the result of “eight months of nonstop negotiation.”
Biden explained, “This plan was developed and negotiated by my team, and it will be largely implemented by the incoming administration. That’s why I told my team to keep the incoming administration fully informed, if that’s how it should be, working together as Americans.”
Going on to speak of more highlights of his term, the president said, “It will take time to feel the full impact of all we’ve done together, but the seeds are planted, and they’ll grow and they’ll bloom for decades to come,” before listing some of his successes:
“At home, we created nearly 17 million new jobs, more than any other single administration a single term, more people have health care than ever before, and overseas, we strengthened NATO. Ukraine is still free, we’ve pulled ahead of our competition with China…. I’m so proud of how much we’ve accomplished together with the American people,” he said.
His well-wishes for the incoming Trump administration were paired with the warnings of “some things that give me great concern, among them the “dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultra wealthy people” and “the dangerous consequences if their abuse of power is left unchecked.”
Biden also warned of the downsides of AI and “an avalanche of misinformation,” as well as the “potential rise of a tech industrial complex.”
He continued, “Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation, disinformation enabling the abuse of power. Free Press is crumbling … Social media is giving up on fact-checking. The truth is smothered by lies for power and for profit. We must hold the social platform accountable to protect our children, our families and our very democracy from the abuse of power.”
He frequently referenced the Statue of Liberty as a symbol of hope and “the soul of our nation.”
In closing, he said, “I’ve always believed, and I’ve told other world leaders, America can be defined by one word: ‘possibilities.’ Only in America do we believe anything is possible.”
He referenced his own “modest beginnings as a “kid with a stutter” to becoming president. “That’s the magic of America. It’s all around us.”
Biden closed by thanking Vice President Kamala Harris, his wife Jill Biden, members of his administration and service members and their families.
“It’s been the highest honor of my life to lead you as commander-in-chief,” he concluded.
