In his farewell address on January 15, President Joe Biden expressed deep concerns about the future of American democracy, specifically warning that it is at risk if Donald Trump returns to office. In a 16-minute speech from the Oval Office, Biden urged the nation to be vigilant about emerging threats to freedom and democracy.
While Biden did not directly name Trump, his comments alluded to the former president and his circle of wealthy advisers as significant dangers to the country’s democratic values. He stated, “An oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy.”
Biden referenced the farewell address of Republican President Dwight Eisenhower in 1961, in which Eisenhower warned against the growing influence of a “military-industrial complex.” Biden updated this warning, saying the current threat is a “tech-industrial complex.” He criticized the spread of misinformation, saying that “Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation,” and that social media platforms have abandoned fact-checking, allowing lies to thrive for power and profit. Biden stressed the need for accountability from these platforms to protect the nation’s democracy and its citizens.
The speech also touched on the involvement of some of the world’s wealthiest individuals—Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos—in supporting Trump. These figures, who have significant influence through their companies such as SpaceX, Tesla, Facebook, and Amazon, have reportedly shown their support for Trump, including attending his upcoming inaugural event.
Additionally, Biden called for several reforms to ensure the continued health of American democracy. These included changes to the Supreme Court, Congress, campaign finance laws, and the presidency itself. He specifically advocated for an amendment to the Constitution to clarify that no president should be immune from prosecution for crimes committed while in office, referencing a Supreme Court ruling from July that had granted presidents immunity in such cases.
