总统乔·拜登在他的告别演说中，他回顾了几十年的政治生涯，但也向全国发出了严厉的警告，因为他准备将权力移交给当选总统唐纳德·特朗普。
拜登在椭圆形办公室的坚决办公桌后发表讲话说，随着国家摆脱冠状病毒疫情，并在经济，基础设施，枪支安全，气候变化等方面进行投资，他为他的政府取得的成就感到自豪。
拜登说:“在过去的四年里，我们的民主一直很强大，在我们国家历史上最艰难的时期之一，我每天都在履行我作为所有美国人的总统的承诺。”
他称赞副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯是一个“伟大的伙伴”，她坐在第二先生道格·艾姆霍夫、第一夫人吉尔·拜登和亨特·拜登旁边。
拜登列举了他的几项关键立法胜利，包括降低处方药价格，扩大暴露在烧伤坑中的退伍军人的福利，投资国内半导体芯片制造等。他指出，这些政策的影响在未来几年内可能不会完全实现。
他还简要强调了以色列和哈马斯周三早些时候达成的停火和释放人质协议，这是拜登一年多来的外交政策目标，在他离开前几天成为现实。
他鼓吹与即将上任的特朗普政府合作，以完成其实施。“这是应该的，一起工作，”拜登说。
但是拜登的大部分言论都是关于他所说的引起他极大关注的事情，他所说的是权力集中在少数富人手中。
“今天，一个寡头政治正在美国形成，它拥有极大的财富、权力和影响力，威胁着我们的整个民主、我们的基本权利和自由，以及每个人取得进步的公平机会，”他说。
他谈到了富人对对抗气候变化的威胁。
他说:“强大的势力想要运用他们不受约束的影响力，取消我们已经采取的应对气候危机的措施，为他们自己的权力和利益服务。”“我们不能因为受到威胁而牺牲未来，我们子孙后代的未来，我们必须不断前进，加快步伐。没有时间可以浪费了。”
拜登还对人工智能的崛起以及技术进步带来的可能性和危险表示担忧。他哀叹网上错误信息的增加，以及他所描述的“摇摇欲坠”的自由媒体，他说这种媒体助长了权力的滥用。
“在他的告别演说中，艾森豪威尔总统谈到了军事工业综合体的危险，”他说。“他当时警告我们，我引用他的话，‘权力错位可能导致灾难性的崛起’...六十年后，我同样担心一个科技工业综合体的潜在崛起，它也可能给我们的国家带来真正的危险。”
拜登推动改革税法，以便亿万富翁支付他们的“公平份额”，并修改宪法，明确规定没有总统可以免除刑事责任-这显然是对特朗普的蔑视，特朗普此前因2020年大选后的行为受到联邦起诉，并将在五天后宣誓就职。
“总统的权力不是无限的。这不是绝对的，也不应该是绝对的，”拜登说。“在一个民主国家，权力和财富的集中还有另一个危险。它侵蚀了团结和共同目标的意识。它造成不信任和分裂。”
“参与我们的民主变得令人筋疲力尽，甚至幻灭，”他继续说道。“人们觉得他们没有公平的机会。我们必须参与这一过程。”
最后，拜登回顾了自己从一个被口吃困扰的斯克兰顿到国家最高办公室的成长历程——这是他在五十年的政治生涯中反复寻求的，在民主党人的质疑下退出2024年竞选后，他不情愿地离开了。
他将美国的承诺描述为一场“持续的斗争”。
“危险和可能性之间只有一小段距离，”他说。“但我相信，我们梦想中的美国总是比我们想象的要近。我们有责任实现我们的梦想。”
拜登断言，最终要靠总统、国会、法院和美国人民来对抗那些心怀不轨的人。
“现在，轮到你站岗了，”拜登说。“愿你们都成为圣火的守护者。愿你保持信念。我爱美国，你也爱它。”
Biden, in farewell address, warns about dangers of unchecked power in ultra-wealthy
PresidentJoe Biden, in his farewell address, reflected on a decadeslong political career but also issued a stark warning to the nation as he prepares to cede power to President-elect Donald Trump.
Speaking from behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, Biden said he was proud of what his administration accomplished as the country climbed out of the coronavirus pandemic and made investments in the economy, infrastructure, gun safety, climate change and more.
"In the past four years, our democracy has held strong and every day I've kept my commitment to be president for all Americans for one of the toughest periods in our nation's history," Biden said.
He commended Vice President Kamala Harris as a "great partner" as she sat nearby alongside second gentleman Doug Emhoff, first lady Jill Biden and Hunter Biden.
Biden listed several of his key legislative wins, including lowering prescription drug prices, expanding benefits for military veterans exposed to burn pits, investing in domestic manufacturing of semiconductor chips and more. The impact of those policies, he noted, may not be fully realized for years to come.
He also briefly highlighted the ceasefire and hostage release deal reached by Israel and Hamas earlier Wednesday, a foreign policy goal of Biden's for more than a year that became reality just days before his departure.
He touted working with the incoming Trump administration to see through its implementation. "That's how it should be, working together," Biden said.
But Biden spent the majority of his remarks on something he said caused him great concern -- what he said was the concentration of power in the hands of a few wealthy individuals.
"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," he said.
He spoke about the threat he said the wealthy posed to efforts to fight the dangers of climate change.
"Powerful forces want to wield their unchecked influence, to eliminate the steps we've taken to tackle the climate crisis, to serve their own interest for power and profit," he said. "We must not be bullied into sacrificing the future, the future of our children and our grandchildren, must keep pushing forward and push faster. There's no time to waste."
Biden also raised concerns about the rise of artificial intelligence, and the possibilities and dangers advancing technologies posed. He lamented the rise in misinformation online and what he described as a "crumbling" free press that he said were enabling abuses of power.
"In his farewell address, President Eisenhower spoke of the dangers of the military industrial complex," he said. "He warned us then about, and I quote, 'the potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power' ... 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."
Biden pushed for reforming the tax code so that billionaires pay their "fair share" and for amending the Constitution to make clear that no president is immune from criminal liability -- an apparent slight at Trump, who was previously under federal indictment for his behavior after the 2020 election and is set to be sworn into office in five days.
"A president's powers is not unlimited. It's not absolute and it shouldn't be," Biden said. "And in a democracy, there's another danger to the concentration of power and wealth. It erodes the sense of unity and common purpose. It causes distrust and division."
"Participating in our democracy becomes exhausting and even disillusioning," he continued. "And people don't feel like they have a fair shot. We have to stay engaged in the process."
In closing, Biden reflected on his own rise as a kid from Scranton plagued by a stutter to the nation's highest office -- one that he sought repeatedly during his five decades in politics and is leaving reluctantly after withdrawing from the 2024 campaign amid Democrats' doubts.
He described America's promise as a "constant struggle."
"A short distance between peril and possibility," he said. "But what I believe is the America of our dreams is always closer than we think. And it's up to us to make our dreams come true."
Ultimately, Biden asserted, it will be up to the president, Congress, the courts and the American people to stand up to those with ill-intent.
"Now, it's your turn to stand guard," Biden said. "May you all be the keeper of the flame. May you keep the faith. I love America, you love it, too."
