This week won’t just mark the end of his four years in office, but it will also be the crowning achievement of a long and storied political career that has lasted over five decades, beginning as the youngest person ever elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972 and culminating in 2025 as the oldest outgoing president in U.S. history.
In his final speech from the Oval Office on Wednesday, Biden looked back even further, to the founding of the United States.
“After 50 years at the center of all of this,” he said, “I know that believing in the idea of America means showing respect for the institutions that make up a free country — the presidency, Congress, the courts, and a free and independent press that allows freedom of speech. These institutions are rooted, not just in the timeless words, but in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident.’”
Working at the Biden White House, I saw firsthand his unwavering faith in the system and organizations that have enabled this country to endure through the toughest times. That faith in institutions will be his defining legacy, and it is now up to us to carry on that tradition.
Our strained world relationships and the need to provide for the American middle class made this moment necessary. It wasn’t political showmanship; it was a statesman who felt compelled to step up at a time when the institutions he supported were at a critical turning point.
It doesn’t take a lot to realize that Biden didn’t plan for his lifetime of public service to end in this way. He’s achieved a very significant legislative record, but also leaves office with very low public support. Unfortunately, his decision to withdraw from the 2020 re-election campaign this summer was sparked by a very public display of betrayal from some members of his own party. His warnings that re-electing Trump would be a threat to American democracy, unfortunately didn’t seem to register with many voters, as Trump not only won the Electoral College vote in November, but also received the most popular votes.
A legacy isn’t determined right when it happens. It’s a complicated and constantly changing concept that gets re-examined as time gives us a clearer understanding. I’m confident that people living in the future will view him more favorably.
to save tens of billions of dollars on electricity bills by 2030 — though any future administration led by Trump could begin working to undo that.
President Biden achieved the seemingly impossible feat of passing significant gun safety legislation with bipartisan support – a monumental accomplishment that has a lasting positive impact on saving lives.
But when history looks back at President Joe Biden’s legacy, I believe it will be the fight over the nation’s values that defines his actions. This is a struggle with no end in sight, and it’s one that Biden himself, possibly for the last time as a public official, tried to rally Americans to join in during his final farewell address.
“After 50 years of public service, I give you my word: I still believe in the idea that this country is founded upon – an idea that a nation’s strength comes from its institutions and the character of its people matters and must continue to endure,” he said. “Now it’s your turn to take responsibility. May each of you be the protectors of this ideal.”
Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and witnessed the Promises Land, but his own vision was cut short as he couldn’t set foot in it himself. As with Biden, we may never know for certain if democracy will ultimately be victorious in the fight for control of the country’s heart and soul. In fact, none of us here today will live to see the outcome.
The fight for democracy never truly ends. Freedom can easily disappear if it’s not consistently safeguarded by an actively engaged population, a free and fair press, and a transparent electoral process. Biden recognized this; he experienced it firsthand. History will likely remember that he stepped up to meet the challenge.
As we witness the writing of this new chapter in American history, let us draw inspiration from his example and strive to rise to the occasion as well.
For more thought-provoking insights from Symone Sanders-Townsend, Michael Steele, and Alicia Menendez, tune in.
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