President Joe Biden bid farewell to Americans on Wednesday with a prime-time Oval Office address defending his record and issuing dire warnings about threats of a potential “oligarchy” and the powerful technology sector.
His remarks capped a career in Washington that has spanned a half century, beginning with a long run in the Senate followed by eight years as vice president and later four as the 46th commander in chief. And Biden made clear that he will, if reluctantly, hand the keys of state Monday to President-elect Donald Trump, the Republican incumbent he ousted in 2020.
Biden, whose legacy has been clouded by damaging missteps, hailed the U.S. as “a nation of pioneers and explorers, of dreamers and doers, of ancestors native to this land, of ancestors who came by force.”
“A nation of immigrants came to build a better life, a nation holding the torch and most powerful idea ever in the history of the world, that all of us, all of us are created equal,” the outgoing president said.
After months of promising to oversee a smooth transition period and a peaceful transfer of power, Biden wished the incoming Trump administration luck. Why? Because its success, he said, would be America’s success. Still, he warned against a “dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultrawealthy people.”
Wednesday’s address marked Biden’s “last real opportunity to command the nation’s attention,” Michael Bitzer, a political science professor at Catawba College in North Carolina, said in an email, adding: “Of course, the full scale of Biden’s legacy will be left to time to determine.”
Biden used his remarks to, largely, recount his time in the public sphere and to tout what he and his team consider their biggest accomplishments over the past four years. Bitzer called that “standard fare from all outgoing presidents” and unlikely to have much staying power.
“It will be received in the spirit of the country’s polarized nature, so it’s likely the address will have little lasting impact,” Bitzer said, “falling in line with most of these farewell addresses, beyond [George] Washington’s.”
Here are three takeaways from Biden’s Wednesday night remarks:
‘Oligarchy taking shape’
Biden, just as he did last week while eulogizing the late former President Jimmy Carter, took a few thinly-veiled jabs at Trump, without naming him. While a candidate for reelection before he was forced out of the race following a disastrous debate performance, Biden had called his then-opponent a threat to American democracy.
The outgoing president warned that “an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms — and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead.”
Biden also called for a constitutional amendment “to make clear that no president — no president — is immune from crimes that he or she commits while in office. A president’s power is not limited, it’s not absolute, and it shouldn’t be.”
Echoing his comments from Carter’s state funeral, he used the word “character” in another apparent jab at Trump.
“After 50 years of public service, I give you my word,” he said, “and I still believe in the idea for which this nation stands, a nation where the strengths of our institutions and the character of our people matter — and must endure.”
With Trump slated to be sworn into a second term around noon on Monday, Biden left Americans with a challenge.
“Now, it’s your turn to stand guard. May you all be the keeper the flame,” he said, implying that dark days would be ahead if citizens allow the flame of Americans ideals to be extinguished.
Such sentiments have long been a mainstay in Democratic circles, where some have speculated whether Trump could try to seek a third term — or simply not leave office in January 2029.
Pam Bondi, Trump’s nominee to be attorney general, testified at her confirmation hearing Wednesday that it was her view Trump could not run again in 2028, “not unless they change the Constitution.”
“Biden will say goodbye to the nation, while the nation will say, ‘Oh, wow. You’re still here?” Jimmy Fallon, host of NBC’s “Tonight Show,” said Tuesday. “I think the speech is worth watching because, based on who’s taking office on Monday, it might be a while until we see another farewell address.”
‘Seeds are planted’
Biden defended his foreign policy and domestic record, and he spotlighted several measures his administration negotiated with lawmakers. He made sure to note the “17 million new jobs” created over the past four years, contending it was the most in history for a new administration.
“Together, we’ve launched a new era of American possibilities, one of the greatest modernizations of infrastructure in our entire history, from new roads, bridges, clean water, affordable, high-speed internet for every American,” Biden said. He cited a science and technology bill he pushed through Congress, the paring down of violent crime rates, changes to how Medicare negotiates prescription drug costs and what he called “the most significant gun safety law in 30 years.”
“It will take time to feel the full impact of all we’ve done together,” Biden said. “But the seeds are planted, and they’ll grow, and they’ll bloom for decades to come.”
Republican former Pennsylvania Rep. Charlie Dent contended during a recent phone interview that the stimulus package enacted during Biden’s first year in office damaged the economy and a signature measure known as the Inflation Reduction Act did anything but and hurt Biden’s legacy and Vice President Kamala Harris’ general election campaign.
“The American Rescue Plan overspent by a good amount. It pumped too much stimulus into the economy while demand was high and supplies were low,” he said. “The IRA was just climate change bill with price controls on certain drugs. It was terribly misnamed. The impact that it had on inflation was minimus. But it spent way more than advertised on [electric vehicles] and renewables. Voters scratched their head and asked, ‘Why not just call it a climate change bill?’”
‘Tech industrial complex’
Biden also used the address to echo the outgoing remarks by another president, Dwight D. Eisenhower, a former military commander who warned of a “defense industrial complex” on his way out.
Biden said he was “concerned about the potential rise of a tech industrial complex,” contending that “it could pose real dangers for our country as well. “
“Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation, enabling the abuse of power. The free press is crumbling. Editors are disappearing,” he said. “Social media is giving up on fact-checking. The truth is smothered by lies told for power and for profit. We must hold the social platforms accountable to protect our children, our families and our very democracy from the abuse of power.”
Also on Big Tech, he warned of the potential dangers of artificial intelligence.
“Unless safeguards are in place, AI can spawn new threats to our rights, our way of life, to our privacy, how we work and how we protect our nation. We must make sure AI is safe and trustworthy and good for all humankind,” Biden said, adding, “America, not China, must lead the world in the development of AI.”
On his way out, the soon-to-be former president’s approval rating remains low: Gallup put it at 39 percent last month. Biden will join two former presidents, Trump and George W. Bush, with final approval ratings below 40 percent.
As Biden begins the transition to private citizen, one former senior congressional aide said Wednesday that his tattered legacy could improve over time.
“I think his legacy will morph from his presidency to his long and remarkable career as a public servant,” Ivan Zapien wrote in an email. “Objectively, he is one of the GOAT’s, if you are a student of careers in D.C. He is still the only guy to have ever beat Trump.”
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