Joe Biden lashed out at Elon Musk and technology bosses last night as he made his final speech before leaving the White House.
Biden, 82, warned that an “oligarchy” and “tech industrial complex” was on the rise – adding that “Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation”.
The outgoing President claimed that said “avalanche” was enabling the “abuse of power” in a scathing attack on social media platforms, whose biggest names are aligning themselves with Donald Trump ahead of his return to the White House.
“The free press is crumbling,” Biden said. “Editors are disappearing. Social media is giving up on fact-checking.”
Biden, 82, warned that an ‘oligarchy’ and ‘tech industrial complex’ was on the rise
REUTERS
“The truth is smothered by lies told for power and for profit,” he added.
“We must hold the social platforms accountable to protect our children, our families, and our very democracy from the abuse of power.”
X owner Elon Musk is set to advise Trump as his co-leader of the “Department of Government Efficiency” alongside Vivek Ramaswamy – while just days ago, Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg announced his platforms would be ditching “politically biased” fact-checkers.
Following the tech bosses’ pro-Trump pivot, Biden said that “an oligarchy is taking shape in America” caused by the “dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultra-wealthy people”.
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X owner Elon Musk is set to advise Trump as his co-leader of the ‘Department of Government Efficiency’
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In his farewell address, Biden appeared to stumble over his words and misread his autocue on several occasions, saying he had presided over “one of the toughest periods in our nation’s history” as the US tried to bounce back from the pandemic.
That drew praise from long-time Biden ally Senator Chris Coons, who said the “recovery from that pandemic has been his single greatest accomplishment”.
Biden also appeared to extend a number of olive branches – both to the incoming Trump team over an Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal, and to Kamala Harris, who was said to have fallen out with the President over his late election drop-out last year.
He said Harris was a “great partner” and “like family”.
PICTURED: Joe Biden kisses his grandson, Beau Jr
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While on the ceasefire deal, Biden 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.”
He closed his final address by saying: “I ran for President because I believed that the soul of America was at stake. The very nature of who we are was at stake. And that’s still the case.”
“Now it’s your turn to stand guard,” he told Americans. “May you all be the keeper of the flame. May you keep the faith.”