In his inaugural speech four years prior, President Joe Biden characterized former President Donald Trump’s chaotic administration as an outlier and presented his own election as a restoration of traditional political values.

“Much to repair. Much to restore. Much to heal,” Biden proclaimed in 2021, sunlight illuminating his face as he stood on the Capitol’s West Front. He championed the need for “Unity! Unity!”

However, in Biden’s farewell address on Wednesday night, it appeared that his four years in office might be seen as the anomaly, while Trump has become the prevailing standard.

Biden seemed to recognize this shift, delivering a cautionary message about the “dangerous concentration of power among a small group of extremely wealthy individuals.” His remarks were unmistakably directed at Trump and his close associates, such as Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, even though he refrained from naming anyone specifically.

“An oligarchy is forming in America,” the president stated, “focused not on safeguarding democracy or ensuring opportunities for the average citizen but on accumulating wealth and power for themselves.”

He called for significant reforms, including 18-year term limits for Supreme Court justices, prohibiting stock trading by Congress members, abolishing undisclosed “dark money” in politics, and establishing a constitutional amendment to clarify that a president is not above the law for any crimes committed while in office.

His reference to a “tech-industrial complex” intentionally echoed a caution given by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in his famous farewell address in 1961, where the five-star general warned about the growing influence of a “military-industrial complex.”

Biden addressed the nation from the Oval Office, the most personal setting for a presidential address. Sitting at the Resolute desk, he conveyed a serious and earnest tone, occasionally stumbling over his words. He spoke directly to the camera, except when he acknowledged first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and a few others gathered off-camera at the end of his speech.

His presidency will always be framed by Trump’s two terms, marking the second occasion in U.S. history where a president’s terms are not consecutive. Trump has already indicated plans to undo many of Biden’s key initiatives, from climate policies to support for Ukraine against Russia, affecting the legacy Biden aims to leave behind.

Even Biden’s latest major achievement, the Israel-Hamas ceasefire reached on Wednesday—which his administration had worked on for over a year—carried the influence of Trump. The demands of the incoming president for a deal before his inauguration on Monday may have provided the final nudge to finalize the agreement.

“This EPIC ceasefire agreement could only have arisen from our Historic Victory in November,” Trump boasted in a Truth Social post before Biden even announced it, without mentioning the current president’s name.

When he spoke later in the day, Biden acknowledged “coordination” with “the incoming team.” However, when asked by a reporter whether he or Trump deserved the credit for the agreement, he responded sharply, “Is that a joke?”

A doubtful public

Biden faces a challenging task in convincing the public that he is leaving behind a significant and impactful record, even one of transformation. He asserted in his address that he had governed “during one of the most challenging periods in our nation’s history,” beginning with a “once-in-a-century pandemic.”

Yet, as he concludes a 50-year career in public service, only 44% of Americans approved of his performance, according to a YSL News/Suffolk University poll conducted last week, while 55% disapproved. Just 5% believed he would be remembered as a “great” president, while 44% felt he would be viewed as a “failed” one.

Biden hopes that history will judge him more kindly.

“It will take time to see the full impact of what we’ve accomplished together,” he mentioned in his speech. “But the seeds are sown, and they will grow and flourish for decades to come.”

He did not provide a detailed account of his achievements, as some anticipated, nor did he indicate what role he might take in future national discussions.

“Now it’s your turn to stand guard,” he told those watching the televised address.