President Joe Biden delivered his farewell address to the nation on Wednesday night. He opened his remarks by taking full credit for the hostage deal between Israel and Hamas announced earlier in the day. Notably absent from his account was any acknowledgment of the crucial role played by President-elect Donald Trump’s negotiators or the fact that Trump’s victory itself made Hamas significantly more willing to strike a deal.
“After eight months of nonstop negotiation, my administration — by my administration — a cease-fire and a hostage deal has been reached by Israel and Hamas, the elements of which I laid out in great detail in May of this year,” he said.
“This plan was developed and negotiated by my team, and it will be largely implemented by the incoming administration. That’s why I told my team to keep the incoming administration fully informed. Because that’s how it should be: Working together as Americans.”
Biden then shifted the discussion to the construction of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, a gift from France to America after the Civil War, highlighting its profound symbolism. “Like the very idea of America, it was built not by one person but by many people, from every background, and from around the world.”
He described how “she was built to sway back and forth to withstand the fury of stormy weather, to stand the test of time because storms are always coming. … The Statue of Liberty is also an enduring symbol of the soul of our nation, a soul shaped by forces that bring us together and by forces that pull us apart. And yet, through good times and tough times, we have withstood it all.”
Despite calling MAGA supporters “garbage,” he emphasized that he has been a president for all Americans. [For those who may have missed it, Trump’s white garbage truck with the MAGA logo on its side that he trolled Biden so humorously with, will be featured in his inaugural parade. But I digress.]
Similarly, forgetting that many first responders lost their jobs as a result of his administration’s ill-conceived vaccine mandate, Biden praised them as the “heroes” on the frontlines who guided us through the pandemic.
He spoke of the Declaration of Independence, our system of separation of powers, checks and balances, and the significance of the words “we the people” in our Constitution, as if he actually reveres any of these ideals.
Next came the lies. Biden disingenuously claimed that his administration “brought violent crime to a 50-year low. … We have created nearly 17 million new jobs, more than any other single administration in a single term. More people have health care than ever before. And overseas, we have strengthened NATO. Ukraine is still free. And we’ve pulled ahead in our competition with China. And so much more.”
After Democrats and journalists have spent the entire election cycle claiming that crime is down, the FBI three weeks before an election revises their crime statistics showing that crime increased by 4.5% in 2022 instead of dropping 2.1%.
Incredible. pic.twitter.com/3wgaEsQoID
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 16, 2024
Then came the warnings. Biden said he worries about “the dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultrawealthy people, and the dangerous consequences if their abuse of power is left unchecked. Today, 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. We see the consequences all across America.”
He blamed “the existential threat of climate change” for the California wildfires and the hurricane that devastated western North Carolina.
Citing former President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s warning about the military-industrial complex in his 1960 farewell address, Biden said he was “equally concerned about the potential rise of a tech-industrial complex that could pose real dangers for our country as well.”
He attacked misinformation, disinformation, and lamented the decision of Big tech leaders to end fact-checking on social media sites.
Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation enabling the abuse of power. The free press is crumbling. Editors are disappearing. 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. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence is the most consequential technology of our time, perhaps of all time.
Nothing offers more profound possibilities and risks for our economy, and our security, our society. For humanity. Artificial intelligence even has the potential to help us answer my call to end cancer as we know it. But unless safeguards are in place, A.I. could 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 A.I. is safe and trustworthy and good for all humankind.
As always, he called on wealthy Americans to pay their fair share (of taxes). This was especially rich considering he shamelessly pardoned his son Hunter in December who tried not to pay his fair share.
The guy who just pardoned his son for tax evasion charges is giving the “pay your fair share” speech again. What an embarrassment this dude is.
— Jimmy Failla (@jimmyfailla) January 16, 2025
And on it went for 17 excruciating minutes.
Biden ends his presidency by using rhetoric that would be right at home in a third-world communist dictatorship.
This may be the worst farewell speech in presidential history.
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) January 16, 2025
One thing was clear: Biden ignored the miserable reality of his time in office and instead painted a picture of how he wants his presidency to be remembered—two starkly different narratives.
[Please scroll down to watch the whole speech. A full transcript of the speech can be read here.]
Following the speech, Fox News’ Dana Perino made an interesting observation. She said, “To me, it felt like Biden’s farewell speechwriters have already left the building, and they asked ChatGPT to write a speech for Joe in which he doesn’t remember he was president for the last four years.”
.@DanaPerino: To me, it felt like Biden’s farewell address speechwriters have already left the building, and they asked ChatGPT to write a speech for Joe Biden in which he doesn’t remember he was president for the last four years. pic.twitter.com/l06IyItxrP
— Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) January 16, 2025
In the clip below, CNN’s token conservative commentator Scott Jennings corrects his colleague’s assessment that Democrats lost in November because of a “communications failure.”
He tells her, “For Democrats, it’s always been about communications failure and no introspection about the policies that led to him [Biden] leaving office as one of the most unpopular presidents. When I watched this tonight, I remain astonished that he, his family, and other people around him thought he could ever run for another term. There’s no way he could serve another six months let alone another four years. The fact that they pursued that farce for as long as they did, to me, remains one of the most astonishing things about this term.”
My immediate reaction to Biden’s farewell address on @cnn tonight. pic.twitter.com/7338sUo0KS
— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) January 16, 2025
Jennings is, of course, correct.
Decades from now, historians will look back in amazement at the fact that Americans elected a senile man to the presidency. And that even as his condition became increasingly alarming, he was allowed to remain in office. Worse yet, his party continued to support his bid for reelection—until a disastrous debate performance finally derailed his campaign.
In the meantime, we can take comfort in the knowledge that in less than 99 hours, he will be gone, and our four-year national nightmare will be over.
A previous version of this article appeared on Legal Insurrection.
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