Late-Night Hosts React to Biden’s Farewell Speech: ‘Where Was This Guy?’
President Joe Biden delivered his final address from the Oval Office this week, using the speech as an opportunity to warn about the threat of an impending oligarchy in America. Late-night hosts, of course, had some thoughts about Biden’s farewell words.
On The Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon recounted Biden’s speech in which the outgoing president “warned of an oligarchy and a tech industrial complex that could pose real dangers to our country.” Fallon responded, “Where was this guy? Biden couldn’t sing ‘Happy Birthday.’ Suddenly he pulls out ‘oligarchy’ and ‘tech industrial complex’?”
More from Rolling Stone
He added that Biden called for taxes on billionaires and terms limits on the Supreme Court during the speech, quipping, “Man, if only Biden were president.”
Jimmy Kimmel had a similar reaction, calling out Fox and Friends for focusing on the pillow Biden was sitting on rather than the speech itself. “Joe Biden leaves the office with the lowest approval rating of his presidency at 63 percent,” Kimmel added. “The good news is he won’t remember any of it.”
On The Late Show, Stephen Colbert acknowledged that it was his last show of the Biden administration. The host explained how Biden advised Americans against the impending “tech industrial complex,” noting, “That’s been a threat since I was a kid. Back then we called it Radio Shack.”
Colbert added, “Thank you sir for that stark warning. But, I gotta say, delivering it in your trademark low power mode whisper ramble robbed it of a certain essential urgency.”
Seth Meyers ran an entire segment dedicated to the speech for Late Night‘s “A Closer Look,” noting that Biden must “finally sense” the anger towards the establishment. “Powerful message,” Meyers said after playing a clip of the farewell address. “And I just hope that one day this enterprising young man runs for public office so he can do something about it.”
He added, “Now you warn us that America is becoming an oligarchy? America’s 12 richest men are now worth a combined $2 trillion. And overall America’s billionaires are worth a combined $6 trillion, which is more than the combined wealth of the entire bottom half of Americans. Elon Musk alone, which he usually is because of how much he sucks, is the first person to reach a net worth of $400 billion. Which is why it’s weird he can’t afford a larger shirt. It’s not like we didn’t have a hint that any of this was happening.”
Meyers pointed out that Bernie Sanders has been warning about America becoming an oligarchy for at least 31 years. “Look, I appreciate the warning from Biden,” the host said. “But it would have been nice if Democrats had maybe tried talking about this during the campaign when people were paying attention… Now Biden’s on his way out and suddenly he’s full of ideas.”
On The Daily Show, Jordan Klepper responded to Biden’s ominous warning by sarcastically saying, “Thanks for the encouragement Mr. President. I’m shitting my pants in comfort.” He added, “Look, I know you’ve only got a few days left, but don’t just give us problems. Maybe offer some solutions, you know?”
Best of Rolling Stone
Sign up for RollingStone's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.