Bitter Biden warns oligarchy taking shape in America in barely disguised farewell address attack on Elon Musk
WASHINGTON — Outgoing President Biden used a resentful farewell address Wednesday night to warn against what he called a “tech-industrial complex” — claiming that “an oligarchy is taking shape in America” in a clear swipe at Elon Musk and other business titans scrambling to court President-elect Donald Trump.Biden, 82, sniped at some of the same tech moguls, such as Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, who were seen as helping the Democrat defeat Trump in 2020 through censorship of unfavorable coverage.“In my farewell address tonight, I want to warn the country of some things that give me great concern.And that’s a dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultra-wealthy people and the dangerous consequences if their abuse of power is left unchecked,” Biden said.“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.”Biden did not name names, but made the targets of his wrath clear through pointed comments elsewhere in his remarks.“In his farewell address, President Eisenhower spoke of the dangers of the military-industrial complex.
He warned us then about, ‘the potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power,'” Biden said.“Six decades later, I’m equally concerned about the potential rise of a tech-industrial complex that could pose real dangers for our country as well,” the president went on.“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.”The “giving up on fact-checking” line was a...