WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden warned Wednesday that the “soul of America” is still at stake, as he prepared to deliver his farewell address to the nation before the return to power of Donald Trump.
The 82-year-old Democrat will make a primetime speech from the Oval Office of the White House in which he is expected to tout the legacy of his single four-year term.
In a letter previewing his remarks — due to be made at 8:00 p.m. US Eastern time (0100 GMT Thursday) — Biden took an implicit swipe at Republican Trump.
“I ran for president because I believed that the soul of America was at stake. The very nature of who we are was at stake. And, that’s still the case,” Biden said in the letter.
“History is in your hands. The power is in your hands. The idea of America lies in your hands,” he said. “We just have to keep the faith and remember who we are.”
Biden said the United States was stronger than four years ago, when it “stood in a winter of peril” after Trump’s chaotic first term, the Covid pandemic and what he called “the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.”
Biden was sworn in just days after the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters trying to overturn his election loss.
He did not mention Trump by name — but his words clearly echoed previous speeches in which he said he decided to run in the 2020 election because America’s “soul” was at risk from Trump and his supporters, and that Trump was a threat to democracy.
The US president said he had asked the White House to also release a long list of what he termed his administration’s achievements, covering issues ranging from the economy to health care and climate change.
He said the United States had the “strongest economy in the world” and was bringing down inflation — even if public anger over the cost of living was a major factor in the Democrats’ election loss.
“I have given my heart and my soul to our nation,” said Biden, adding that it had been the “privilege of my life to serve this nation for over 50 years.”
The outgoing president has spent much of his final days in power trying to burnish his legacy.
Those efforts got a boost on Wednesday when Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire and hostage release deal, for which Biden says he has been pushing for nearly a year and a half.
“I’m deeply satisfied this day has come, finally come,” Biden said at the White House.
Trump, whose Middle East adviser was involved in the talks, also claimed credit for the “epic” accord.
Biden’s legacy was, however, damaged by his decision to run for a second term despite his age.
The Democrat was forced to drop out of the race last June after a disastrous debate against Trump, 78, who went on to a commanding victory over Biden’s vice president, Kamala Harris.
In a farewell interview in the Washington Post published Wednesday, outgoing First Lady Jill Biden took a dig at the Democratic Party for pressing Biden to drop out.
“Let’s just say I was disappointed with how it unfolded,” she said.
Emotions ran high at the White House.
Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre — part of a team that brought back regular media briefings after Trump ended them during his first term — fought back tears on her last appearance at the famous podium as she described the “honor of a lifetime.”

LONDON: The UK’s military and defense industries are being forced to avoid university careers fairs because of pro-Palestinian protesters.

Student activists have targeted representatives of the Royal Air Force in recent months during events at which they were attempting to recruit graduates, The Times newspaper reported.

Videos and images shared on social media show RAF recruiters shutting down display stands or leaving them while the protests take place.

About 20 defense companies have stopped attending university careers events because of security concerns about the protests, it was reported last week.

The demonstrations are part of the widespread activism in the UK in response to Israel’s military operations in Gaza that have killed more than 46,000 Palestinians since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks on Israel in which about 1,200 people were killed and at least 250 taken hostage.

Protesters have also targeted the factories of UK defense companies that supply Israel, and called on the British government to halt arms deliveries.

One protest group, called “Newcastle Apartheid Off Campus,” claimed to have shut down a recruitment fair at Newcastle University at which the RAF and defense firm BAE Systems were represented.

And about 20 students surrounded the recruitment stands of GE Aerospace, the RAF and BAE Systems at Glasgow University in October.

“The students managed to kick out BAE Systems, RAF and (defense and intelligence company) CGI,” the Glasgow University Justice for Palestine Society said in a message posted on Instagram.

“Shame on Glasgow University, we continue to demand divestment and cutting all ties with these genocidal companies.”

Similar disruptions took place at a recruitment fair at York University in October and during an RAF talk at Cardiff University the same month.

In a letter to ministers, Lord Walney, the UK government’s independent adviser on political violence and disruption, warned that the protests go beyond peaceful assembly and could “seriously undermine our nation’s security and technical edge.”

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson told The Times: “We continue to engage widely with our industry partners to highlight the importance and significant benefits of a career in the defense sector.

“This government recognizes the vital role of the defense sector as an engine for growth, strengthening our security and economy.”