In his farewell speech just days before the end of his term, US President Joe Biden urgently warned of the rise of a threatening oligarchy in the United States and called for the defense of democracy and fundamental rights.
“I would like to warn the country about a few things that deeply concern me: the dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a few extremely wealthy people – and the dangerous consequences if their abuse of power goes unchecked,” the 82-year-old stressed , who died on March 20. The scepter will be handed over to Donald Trump in January.
“The free press is crumbling”
Probably in a nod to Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, Biden warned: “Today an oligarchy is emerging in America with extreme wealth, power and influence that will literally destroy our entire democracy, our fundamental rights, freedoms and the fair opportunity for everyone to move.” threatens. forward. Americans are inundated with misinformation and misinformation, which enables abuse of power.” Bidens outlined an extremely bleak future scenario: “The free press is crumbling, editors are disappearing, and fact-checking on social media is being abandoned. The truth is suppressed by lies spread for power and profit.” He therefore called for social platforms to be held accountable to protect children, families and democracy itself from abuse of power.
Tesla and SpaceX boss Musk has a particularly close relationship with Trump, who will be sworn in as president next week. Musk, who also owns Platform
Zuckerberg, in turn, recently spoke out against censorship and, as head of the Facebook group Meta, initiated a change of course by moving away from the previous moderation model on his social platforms. In doing so, he followed Musk’s line, who largely lifted restrictions on statements on the platform after the takeover of Twitter. Researchers and some users have accused the renamed successor platform X of allowing hate speech since then. X rejects this. Both Musk and Zuckerberg are said to be hoping that their proximity to Trump will benefit their companies.
“The president’s power is not unlimited”
Biden also expressed caution about the newly elected president. He called for clarification in the Constitution that no president is immune from prosecution for crimes committed while in office. “The president’s power is not unlimited. It is not absolute,” the outgoing incumbent said. He was referring to a controversial ruling by the US Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court, with its right-wing conservative majority, ruled in July that Trump enjoyed immunity from certain actions from his first term. The historic decision came as a result of an indictment against Trump for election fraud. The future president didn’t get a complete blank check for any wrongdoing, but it did give him dangerous leeway for his second term.
In view of these signs, Biden invoked democracy and fundamental rights in his speech and called for their defense. Biden said he had served the country for 50 years — and addressed his fellow Americans: “Now it’s your turn to stand guard.”
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
