Joe Biden, in an interview with MSNBC, says he ‘spent almost too much time on politics, and not enough time on politics’
Joe Biden gave his final television interview with MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell this evening, in which the outgoing president spoke about his accomplishments, including the recent ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and Hamas.
But with polls showing him leaving with low approval ratings, Biden also acknowledged political flaws.
“You said it was stupid, as a joke, that you didn’t sign the checks that went out to people in your administration when you were providing COVID aid after Donald Trump put his name on the checks that went out,” O’Donnell asked him. Outside during his administration… Did it ever occur to you to put your name on the checks?
“The mistake we made was, I think, we didn’t get our allies to acknowledge that Democrats did this,” Biden said.
“I’m not a good peddler,” he added. “I mean, this – it wasn’t a stupid thing for him to do. It helped him a lot. It undermined our ability to convince people that we were the ones taking this to them.”
“…Ironically, I’ve spent almost too much time on politics and not enough time on politics, because, I mean, some of the senators in Congress, the Democratic senators in Congress are saying: Well, you know, Joe Biden is the one who He did this. ‘Let people know who is responsible for this event. But I know it seems stupid to say that, almost in bad taste.
In his farewell speech from the Oval Office on Wednesday, Biden warned that “an oligarchy is forming in America,” specifically warning of a “tech-industrial complex” in which Silicon Valley billionaires exercise enormous influence over all aspects of society.
The danger is that ordinary Americans will find themselves without a champion, Biden told O’Donnell.
“Look, if the decision is made that the billionaires, the super-rich, the richest people in the world, are going to start controlling all the apparatuses, from the media to the economy, who can I resist? Lee,” Biden said.
“I think everyone deserves just a chance, not a guarantee, just an opportunity. How do you make that happen in society today if you don’t have access to an education, you don’t have access to adequate health care, you don’t have access to the opportunity to have a job that you can handle.” With her anywhere, can you cover your expenses?”
As he has done before, the president also said he was concerned “about how fragile democracy is.”
“It sounds corny. But I mean, I’m really concerned, because you’ve heard me say it 100 times, I really think we’re at an inflection point in history here. Where it has nothing to do with any particular leader.”
“The thing that keeps it on track is the guardrails,” he added. There is an independent, but responsible, Supreme Court. There is a Congress where you can express your opinion, but you are responsible for basic standards. There is a presidency that says your powers are really limited. I mean, you’re the top dog, but you can’t dictate everything. “And I don’t know, they seem to be getting rid of all these elements.”
