USA Biden warns of oligarchy in America in farewell speech
US President Joe Biden has warned Americans of the rise of a threatening oligarchy in the country as he leaves office.
16.01.2025, 04:10
SDA
In an address to the nation from his office in the White House, Biden said: "I want to warn the country about a few things that cause me great concern: 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 lamented: "Today, an oligarchy of extreme wealth, power and influence is emerging in America that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights, freedoms and the fair opportunity for everyone to get ahead."
"Americans are being inundated with misinformation and disinformation, which enables the abuse of power," the Democrat warned. "The free press is crumbling, editors are disappearing, fact-checks are being abandoned on social media. The truth is being suppressed by lies spread for the sake of power and profit." Biden called for social platforms to be held accountable to protect children, families and democracy itself from abuses of power.
The billionaires close to Trump
Biden was probably alluding to the US entrepreneurs and billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, among others, without mentioning them by name. Tesla and SpaceX boss Musk has a particularly close relationship with Biden's successor Donald Trump, who will be sworn in as president next week. Musk, who also owns Platform X, hardly leaves Trump's side, is expected to advise the future government on cutting spending and speaks out publicly on all kinds of political issues despite not having a mandate.
Zuckerberg, on the other hand, as head of the Facebook group Meta, recently initiated a change of course by turning away from the previous moderation model on his social platforms and thus also a clear rapprochement with Trump and the Republican Party. In doing so, he followed Musk's lead, who largely lifted restrictions on comments on the platform following the takeover of Twitter. Researchers and many users accuse the renamed successor platform X of allowing unbridled 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.
