Biden warns US faces 'dark times' under Trump

Speaking at the annual gala of the National Bar Association in Chicago, the former president noted that the executive branch seems to be doing everything it can to dismantle the Constitution.

“They’re doing it all too often with the help of a Congress that’s just sitting in the sidelines and enabled by the highest court in the nation. The rulings they’ve made, my God,” Biden said.

Executive power under scrutiny

Biden noted that there are defining moments in a nation’s life that separate everything that came before from everything that comes after. According to him, such moments force us to confront painful 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,” the former president said.

While Biden never mentioned Trump by name, he repeatedly referred to him as this guy, and stressed that Americans are beginning to recognize the need for judicial oversight of the executive branch.

“Judges matter. Courts matter. The law matters and the Constitution matters. I think a lot of Americans are starting to realize that under the pressure we’re under now with this guy we have as president. Oh, get ready, folks, this is just starting,” he added.

Undermining progress and the fight for justice

The former president also criticized law firms that cave under pressure and bow to bullying instead of standing for justice and the rule of law, as well as some of the country’s largest media outlets.

He expressed outrage over the clear admiration some of our politicians are showing for the current administration’s aggressive immigration policies.

Biden stated that the current administration is intent on erasing all the progress we made during my presidency, wiping away history instead of making it, erasing justice, equality, erasing justice itself.

“Folks, we can’t sugarcoat this. These are dark days, but you’re all here for the same reason. It’s because our future is literally on the line. We must, we must be unapologetic of fighting for the future,” Biden said.

During his speech in Chicago, he also joked about his age:

“I have the dubious distinction of being elected the youngest senator in American history and the oldest president in American history. It’s hell turning 40 twice,” he said.

Wrapping up his address, Biden urged Americans to find the courage to stand up for justice. In his words, that means taking on a client who can’t write a big check but needs protection of their most basic rights.

“It means take the client who can’t write a big check, but needs protecting their basic fundamental rights. It means signing onto that brief that may draw the ire of people in power, but you know it’s the right thing to do. It means standing firm against unconstitutional actions, designed to intimidate you. It means write the article, give the speech, lead the protest, defend the ideas your country is founded on, to protect your institutions, to fight for the soul of the nation,” he concluded.

CNN noted that Biden’s speech came the same week two of his senior aides testified before the House Oversight Committee - as part of a Republican-led investigation into the former president’s cognitive condition and whether efforts were made to hide it from the public.

The former president, who continues treatment for an aggressive form of prostate cancer, has led a relatively private life since leaving office, making only occasional public appearances.

He mostly resides at his homes in Wilmington and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, and is currently working on a forthcoming book.

For context, at the end of May, Biden delivered his first speech since being diagnosed with prostate cancer.

During his address, the former president did not comment on the Trump administration’s policies, but instead emphasized the importance of unity within the military despite national political divisions.

Additionally, on August 1, former US Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris announced a pause in her political career, stating that she does not want to return to a broken system.