President Joe Biden used his farewell address Wednesday night as an opportunity to warn the country of several current and rising threats.
“I have no doubt that America is in a position to continue to succeed,” Biden said. “That’s why my farewell address tonight, I want to warn the country of some things that give me great concern.”
In his list, he included technology like artificial intelligence and social media, making reference to platforms’ recent decisions to abandon fact-checking. He warned voters about a growing concentration of wealth and power in the country. And he reiterated his calls for reforms, such as 18-year term limits for Supreme Court justices and an amendment to the Constitution that makes clear “no president is immune from crimes that he or she commits while in office.”
He also reiterated his promise to ensure a peaceful transfer of power, mentioning members of President-elect Donald Trump’s team being part of discussions about the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas as an example.
His short speech to close out a decades-long career in politics, given from the controlled environment of the Oval Office, emphasized how different a role Biden is playing in the public eye and in his party now than at the start of his presidency.
Biden’s low approval rating resembles Trump’s at the end of his first term. And though Biden eventually dropped out of the 2024 presidential race, it was not before members of his party broke from him and called for his withdrawal. Even after, some Democrats made clear they’d rather not see him on the campaign trail for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Democrats have said history will be kind to Biden, arguing that time will make his legacy look good. On Wednesday, Biden appeared to agree.
“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,” he said.
“Now it’s your turn to stand guard,” he said.
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Em Luetkemeyer is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.