The former president urged Americans to “get up” in the face of political divisions.
Former President Joe Biden urged Americans to remain hopeful as the nation faces “dark days” in his first public appearance since completing a round of radiation therapy for prostate cancer.
After receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Edward M. Kennedy Institute in Boston on Sunday, Biden warned against what he called attacks on free speech and tests on the limits of executive power by President Donald Trump.
“Friends, I can’t sugar coat any of this. These are dark days,” the 82-year-old said, according to the Associated Press.
But, he said, America is “more powerful than any dictator.”
The former president went on to list people who are standing their ground against threats from the Trump administration, including comedians who have been targeted by Trump.
“The late night hosts continue to shine a light on free speech knowing their careers are on the line,” Biden said.
Last month, late-night talk show hosts rallied around comedian Jimmy Kimmel after his show was briefly pulled off the air following comments he made after the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Kimmel expressed regret for his remarks, and his show eventually resumed. Late-night talk show hosts have accused Trump of trekking toward authoritarianism.
“America is not a fairy tale,” Biden said Sunday. “For 250 years, it’s been a constant push and pull, an existential struggle between peril and possibility.”
Biden said he still believes in the promise of America. Though it may be easy to “check out,” he said, it is not time to give up.
“We are one of the only countries in the world that time and again has come out of every crisis we faced, stronger than we went into that crisis,” Biden said. “I still believe we will emerge, as we always have, stronger, wiser, more resilient, more just.”
In response, White House assistant press secretary Liz Huston said in a statement: “The real ‘dark days’ were under Joe Biden’s failed leadership – when millions of illegal alien criminals poured into our cities, inflation crushed working families, and men played in women’s sports.”