WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden used his farewell address to the nation on Wednesday to warn about an “oligarchy” of the ultra-rich taking root in the country and about a “techno-industrial complex” that infringes on Americans’ rights and the future of democracy.
In his speech from the Oval Office as he prepares to hand over power to President-elect Donald Trump on Monday, Biden expressed his concerns about the concentration of power and wealth among a few.
"Today, an oligarchy of extreme wealth, power, and influence is taking shape in the United States that literally threatens our entire democracy, our rights and basic freedoms, and a fair opportunity for everyone to progress," said Biden, drawing attention to "a dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a few ultra-rich individuals. Dangerous consequences if their abuse of power is not controlled."
With warnings similar to those of President Dwight Eisenhower about the military-industrial complex when he finished his term, he added, "I am equally concerned about the potential emergence of a technological-industrial complex that could also pose real dangers to our country."
Biden expressed his concerns at a time when some of the world's wealthiest individuals and titans of the technology industry have joined Trump in recent months, particularly after his electoral victory last November.
Billionaire Elon Musk spent over 100 million dollars to help elect Trump, while executives like Mark Zuckerberg from Meta and Jeff Bezos from Amazon have made donations to the incoming president's inaugural committee and visited Trump's estate in Florida for a meeting with the president-elect.
Biden also called for a constitutional amendment to end a president's immunity while in office, after the Supreme Court granted Trump broad protections from any criminal liability for his role in trying to overturn his 2020 defeat to Biden last year.