Outgoing US President Joe Biden warned of the presence of a “dangerous” minority government forming in America, in his farewell speech that ended a decades-long career in politics.
“Today, America is shaped by an oligarchy of extreme wealth, power and influence that threatens our entire democracy and our fundamental rights and freedoms,” he said on Wednesday.
Biden (82 years old) criticized an ultra-rich “technological-industrial complex” that he said could exercise unchecked power over Americans.
He also used his recent televised speech from the White House to issue warnings about climate change and misinformation on social media.
Speaking from the Oval Office where his family gathered to watch, he touted the record of his one-term administration, citing job creation, spending on infrastructure and health care, getting the country out of the pandemic and making the United States a safer nation.
“It will take time to feel the full impact of everything we have done together, but the seeds have been planted, and they will grow and flourish for decades to come,” he added.
Biden wished success for the incoming Donald Trump administration, but then issued a series of clear warnings, with the president saying “there is a lot at stake now.”
Regarding climate change, he said, “Powerful powers want to exert their influence unchecked to eliminate the steps we have taken to address the climate crisis to serve their own interests for the sake of power and profit.”
Regarding disinformation, Biden warned that “Americans are buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation, allowing for the abuse of power.”
He also criticized social media companies like Meta, which recently announced they would do so Get rid of independent fact checkers. “Social media is abandoning fact-checking,” Biden said. “The truth is being stifled by lies told for power and for profit.”
His attack on the super-rich “tech-industrial complex” was a veiled reference to Silicon Valley executives such as Elon Musk, the world’s richest man who is close to Trump and has provided massive financial support to his campaign.
Other tech heads, such as Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, have made efforts to improve relations with Trump ahead of his return to the White House.
At the end of his speech, Biden called on Americans to “stand guard” for their country: “May you all be guardians of the flame.”
His farewell speech came on the same day A ceasefire agreement was announced Between Israel and Hamas, which he referred to in his opening speech.
Biden said the negotiations were some of the most difficult in his career, and he took credit for helping to close the deal.
The agreement stipulates that the ceasefire will enter into force on January 19, that is, one day before Trump takes office. He also credited the new president with reaching the agreement, saying that it would not have been possible without his victory in the elections that took place in November.
