Tuesday, October 28, 2025 - Former US President Joe Biden called the current period "dark days" as he publicly urged Americans to remain optimistic and engaged in response to what he characterized as attacks on free speech and tests on the limits of executive power by President Donald Trump.
Speaking publicly for the first time since completing a
round of radiation therapy for an aggressive form of prostate cancer, the
82-year-old Democrat addressed an audience in Boston after receiving the
Lifetime Achievement Award from the Edward M. Kennedy Institute on Sunday,
October 26.
“Since its founding, America served as a beacon for the most
powerful idea ever in government in the history of the world,” Biden said. “The
idea is stronger than any army. We’re more powerful than any dictator.”
Biden expressed concern that the country's foundation
depends on a presidency with limited power, a functioning Congress, and an
autonomous judiciary. With the federal government currently facing one of its
longest shutdowns on record, Biden suggested that Trump has used the lapse in
funding to exercise new command over the government.
“Friends, I can’t sugarcoat any of this. These are dark
days,” Biden stated, but quickly added a message of hope. He predicted the
country would “find our true compass again” and “emerge as we always
have—stronger, wiser and more resilient, more just, so long as we keep the
faith.”
He cited examples of individuals standing up against threats
from the current administration, including federal employees who resign in
protest, as well as universities and comedians targeted by Trump. He even gave
a shout-out to Republican officials who vote against the current
administration.
“America is not a fairy tale,” he concluded. “For 250 years,
it’s been a constant push and pull, an existential struggle between peril and
possibility,” urging people to "get back up."
Biden’s speech came months after his post-presidential
office announced in May that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer that
had spread to his bones. His office disclosed that the cancer was highly
aggressive, graded with a Gleason score of 9. Biden, who will turn 83 in
November, completed his course of radiation therapy earlier this month.
The former President dropped his re-election bid last year,
citing pressure after a challenging debate against Trump and concerns about his
health and age, and he endorsed his Vice President, Kamala Harris, who
ultimately lost to Trump.
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