Former President Joe Biden called these “dark days” as he urged Americans to stay optimistic and not to check out in response to what he describes as attacks on free speech and tests on the limits of executive power by President Donald Trump.
“Since its founding, America served as a beacon for the most powerful idea ever in government in the history of the world,” Biden said. “The idea is stronger than any army. We’re more powerful than a dictator.”
Biden, 82, speaking publicly for the first time since completing a round of radiation therapy for an aggressive form of prostate cancer, addressed an audience in Boston on Sunday night after receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Edward M. Kennedy Institute.
He emphasized that America depends on a presidency with limited power, a functioning Congress, and an autonomous judiciary. With the federal government facing its second-longest shutdown on record, Trump has used the funding lapse as a way to exercise new command over the government.
“Friends, I can’t sugarcoat any of this. These are dark days,” Biden said before predicting the country would “find our true compass again” and “emerge as we always have — stronger, wiser, more resilient, more just — so long as we keep the faith.”
Biden highlighted examples of people standing their ground against threats from the current administration, citing federal employees who resign in protest, as well as universities and comedians targeted by Trump.
“The late night hosts continue to shine a light on free speech knowing their careers are on the line,” he said.
Biden also praised elected Republican officials who vote or openly go against the Trump administration.
“America is not a fairy tale,” he said. “For 250 years, it’s been a constant push and pull, an existential struggle between peril and possibility.”
He concluded his speech by urging people to “get back up.”
The Democrat left office in January after serving one term in the White House. Biden dropped his bid for reelection amid pressure following a disastrous debate against Trump and growing concerns about his age, health, and mental fitness.
Vice President Kamala Harris launched her bid immediately afterward but lost to Trump last November.
In May, Biden’s post-presidential office announced that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and that it had spread to his bones.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/biden-calls-dark-days-urges-americans-back-126890068