Former President Joe Biden on Thursday, July 31, delivered his most outspoken criticism yet of President Donald Trump’s administration since leaving office, raising alarms about threats to the rule of law and civil rights. He made the remarks in Chicago before the National Bar Association, a predominantly Black legal organization.
His speech lasted more than 20 minutes, and while he didn’t mention President Trump by name, his target was unmistakable.
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Biden says ‘dark days’ are here
“Look, folks, You can’t sugarcoat it. These are dark days,” Biden remarked to the crowd of nearly 1,100 people.
In his address, Biden framed Trump as a danger to democracy and civil rights.
“There are moments… that forced us to confront hard truths about ourselves, our institutions and democracy itself. We are, in my view, at such a moment in American history, reflected in every cruel executive outreach, every rollback of basic freedoms, every erosion of long-standing, established precedent,” Biden said.
White House has yet to respond
Trump has yet to respond to his predecessor’s criticism.
Biden also condemned the current administration’s alleged attempts to “erase truth,” and criticized Congress for “sitting on the sidelines” and neglecting its duty to act as a check on the power of the executive branch.
“My friends, we need to face the hard truth of this administration, and that it has been to erase all the gains we’ve made in my administration,” Biden said.
Biden calls out ICE
The former president also called out immigration raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ordered by the Trump administration.
“Watching immigrants who are in this country legally, torn from the arms of their family, dragged away in handcuffs, the only home they’ve ever known,” Biden said. “My friends, we need to face the hard truths of this administration.”
Biden invokes personal history and civil rights leaders
Biden also reflected on his own past, recounting his work as a public defender in Wilmington, Delaware after the 1968 riots. He praised the impact of the Civil Rights Act signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson and spoke emotionally about national tragedies, like the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“I didn’t just see the pain. I felt it,” Biden said in reference to Dr. King’s murder during a tumultuous year that also saw the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, who was vying for the Democratic nomination at the time of his death.
A welcome message
Biden’s comments appeared to resonate with the crowd that included civil rights icon and former Democratic presidential candidate Rev. Jesse Jackson. Both men were honored at the gala as the former president drew applause for the points in his remarks.
Biden’s speech, while painting an ominous picture, also expressed hope that there is still much to fight for in America.
“There’s nothing in the course of our country’s history that we haven’t been able to accomplish,” he proclaimed. “We’re the only nation in the world that has come out of every crisis stronger than when we went in.”
Biden also highlighted his record of appointing more Black women to the bench than any other president and pointed to Kamala Harris as the first female and person of color to serve as vice president.
Harris opens up on Colbert
The former president’s speech coincided with Kamala Harris’ first interview since losing the election to Trump. She appeared on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” as reported by Straight Arrow News on Friday morning, Aug. 1.
Her appearance follows her disclosure that she will not seek to become the next governor of California, but she didn’t say on the show whether she will run for the presidency again in 2028. However, she did call the system “broken” and suggested that, for now, she will shift her attention to more civic engagement.
She also criticized members of Congress for failing to check Trump’s actions.
“We designed our democracy with three independent co-equal branches of government.” Harris told the crowd and Colbert. “I mean, when you see the president of the United States trying to get rid of the Department of Education, and Congress has the role and ability to stand in the way of that, and they’re just sitting on their hands and they go on recess because they don’t want to deal with transparency?”
President Trump took jabs at Harris on Thursday as well, saying that she wasn’t a good candidate in the 2024 election.
“I wouldn’t call her a skilled politician. Would you?” he said.
New memoir announcement
She also announced her new memoir, “107 Days” that will be released in September. The book documents her short run as the Democratic nominee for president. The book is slated to hit bookstores on Sept. 23.
