Biden warns against technological “oligarchy” and abuses of power in his farewell speech | International

Just four days away from leaving the White House, Joe Biden is on his way out. This Wednesday he addressed the nation in prime time to deliver his farewell address, a tradition that dates back to the farewell of the first president, George Washington, in 1796, and that has been institutionalized in recent decades. From the Oval Office, with family photos behind him, Biden defended his legacy before the American people and before history, but he said goodbye by attacking. He warned against the technological “oligarchy” and attacked social networks that have renounced verifying the facts, an obvious allusion to tycoons like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, who have allied themselves with Trumpism. He also defended institutions, warned against “abuse of power” and maintained that presidents should not have immunity for their actions, references directed at his successor, Donald Trump.

“This will be my last speech before you, the American people, from the Oval Office, from this desk, as president. “And I’ve been thinking a lot about who we are and, perhaps more importantly, who we should be,” the president said.

“I want to warn the country about some things that worry me very much. It is about the dangerous concentration of power in the hands of too few ultra-rich people, and the dangerous consequences if their abuse of power goes unchecked. “Today, in the United States, an oligarchy with extreme wealth, power and influence is forming that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair chance for everyone to get ahead,” Biden said. Trump himself is a billionaire, he has an ally with Musk, the richest man in the world, and his cabinet concentrates unprecedented wealth.

Without citing anyone in particular, he compared this oligarchy to that of the “robber barons”, industrialists and financiers of the 19th century, whose practices were often considered unscrupulous or unethical, and then drew another historical parallel in relation to the technological magnates. . “President Eisenhower spoke about the dangers of the military industrial complex,” he said. “Six decades later, I am equally concerned about the possible rise of a technological industrial complex that could pose real dangers to our country as well,” he added.

“Americans are being buried under an avalanche of falsehoods and misinformation that allows for the abuse of power. The free press is crumbling. Editors are disappearing. “Social networks give up checking the facts,” he said in a clear reference to Meta, Zuckerberg’s company, which has followed in the footsteps of X, Elon Musk’s social network. “The truth is suffocated by lies told by power and profit. We must hold social networks accountable to protect our children, our families and our own democracy from the abuse of power,” he argued.

Democratic reforms

In a 17-minute speech that included several gaffes and using the Statue of Liberty in New York as a symbol, Biden defended institutions such as the courts, the press, Congress, the separation of powers or the checks and balances of American democracy. .

He also enunciated a program of democratic reforms that, at this point, sounds like an exercise in melancholy. He defended tax reform so that billionaires pay their fair share instead of being the big beneficiaries of tax cuts. He proposed prohibiting the so-called dark money in the financing of electoral campaigns, limiting the terms of Supreme Court justices to 18 years, preventing congressmen from operating on the stock market and reforming the Constitution to establish that the president does not have criminal immunity for acts that he performs while in office. “The power of the president is not absolute. And it shouldn’t be,” he said.

“In a democracy there is another danger of the concentration of power and wealth. It erodes the sense of unity and common purpose, causes distrust and division. Participating in our democracy becomes exhausting and even disillusioning. “People don’t feel like they have a fair chance,” he lamented.

Trump’s return

Biden, 82, closes half a century of political career from the position he long coveted. In his speech, he defended his achievements, overshadowed by high inflation, the rise of irregular immigration and international instability. These burdens have facilitated Donald Trump’s return to the presidency, in what, in some ways, constitutes his greatest failure and which leaves his stage as an interregnum between the Republican’s two terms.

Biden initially saw himself as a transitional president called to end the demagogue populism of the Trump era. Then, encouraged by some of his achievements and the good results of the 2022 legislative elections, he found himself strong enough to achieve a second term despite his advanced age. The president continues to ruminate that he could have defeated Trump again, but his disastrous performance in the June debate and the subsequent pressure from his own party led him to throw in the towel. He gave way to his vice president, Kamala Harris, to whom he dedicated very affectionate words during his speech, ensuring that he saw her as someone in his family. “For me, family is everything,” he stressed.

His time in the White House ends with a similar aroma to that of Jimmy Carter, who recently died. Price increases and the Iran hostage crisis caused his defeat by Ronald Reagan and overshadowed his later recognized progress. In Carter’s case, the release of the hostages from the Embassy in Tehran occurred just after Reagan was sworn into office. Biden, at least, has been able to celebrate the agreement for a ceasefire in Gaza and the handover of the Hamas hostages and dispute the credit with his successor, whose pressure seems to have been decisive and who has taken credit for the achievement. “This plan was developed and negotiated by my team,” Biden said in his speech, “and will be largely implemented by the incoming Administration. That’s why I told my team to keep the incoming Administration fully informed, as it should be, by working together as Americans,” he began his speech.

Like Carter, Biden leaves office as a one-term president. On one side of the balance there is the recovery from the pandemic, the strong job creation, infrastructure plans, investments in microprocessor plants and other industries, the extension of social coverage, incentives for green energy, protections environmental issues and drug price cuts. In addition, it has rebuilt the network of foreign alliances of the United States, reinforced NATO and left the country without soldiers at war after ending in Afghanistan, after two decades, the longest armed conflict in which the United States has participated.

The withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, however, was chaotic and left 13 soldiers dead in a suicide attack with 180 victims at Kabul airport. It was the prelude to new foreign policy problems, first with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and then with Hamas’s attack on Israel and the Gaza war. Multibillion-dollar aid to Ukraine and closed support for Israel eroded the president’s popularity among different segments of the electorate.

Along with geopolitical instability, the two great burdens of Biden’s presidency have been price increases and immigration. Inflation reached its highest level in four decades due to supply chain bottlenecks in the recovery from the pandemic and the rise in energy and raw materials prices, partly driven by the war in Ukraine and instability in Middle East. It was a global phenomenon, but citizens suffered it in the shopping cart and at the gas station pump. Although the strength of the American economy has been the envy of the world, discontent and frustration settled among the population.

The arrival of immigrants broke records during his term. The new inhabitants contributed to economic growth, but crossings skyrocketed to levels that overwhelmed not only the immigration system, but also the reception services of large cities. Trump and the Republicans characterized the phenomenon as an “invasion” and took advantage of the real problems caused by the avalanche – in particular, some isolated but highly reported crimes – to articulate a xenophobic discourse, loaded with hoaxes at times, which was very effective among the voters. Only in the last stretch of his term did Biden take steps to curb irregular entries.

Those problems are relatively under control when Biden leaves the White House. Inflation has not reached the price stability objective of 2%, but it has been below 3% for six months while the economy continues to generate employment at full speed. Except for the deficit and debt – which paradoxically have not taken their toll – Biden leaves Trump an enviable economic legacy. The final paradox is that Biden leaves the White House with immigrant numbers lower than those at the end of Trump’s first term.

Biden will leave office on January 20. His final words to citizens from the Oval Office desk were addressed to citizens: “After 50 years of public service, I give you my word that I continue to believe in the idea this nation stands for: a nation in which the strength of Our institutions and the character of our people matter and must endure. Now it’s your turn to stand guard. May you all be the keepers of the flame. May you keep the faith. I love America. You love her too. May God bless you all. May God protect our troops. Thank you for this great honor.”