US President Joe Biden zeroed in on what he said were top threats to US democracy, including a rising ‘oligarchy’ and the concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultra-wealthy people.
Biden laid out some of the top challenges to US democracy in final address to the nationImage: Ngan/Pool AFP/AP/dpa/picture alliance
Outgoing US President Joe Biden warned against “a dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultra-wealthy people” during his final planned remarks to the nation on Thursday.
“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,” he said.
Biden, who spent 50 years in public service, was possibly referring to the support enjoyed by President-elect Donald Trump by the likes of some of the richest people in the world like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.
Biden added he was “equally concerned about the potential rise of a tech-industrial complex that could pose real dangers to our country as well.”
In doing so, Biden drew a parallel to President Dwight Eisenhower’s 1961 farewell speech where the 34th US president warned against the establishment of a “military-industrial complex.”
