Biden said he had altered the ‘basic formula’ of the US economy. He also discussed NATO, Putin, the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, and his approach to inflation.
One day after delivering his farewell address, President Joe Biden sat down for the last interview of his term.
The Oval Office interview, which was recorded earlier in the evening on Jan. 16, saw the outgoing president in a friendly exchange with MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell. Biden is famously attuned to one of MSNBC’s morning hosts, ex-Republican Joe Scarborough.
The two discussed Biden’s economic record, his confrontation with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, and the new ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Biden Warns of Concentration of Wealth
Echoing yesterday’s farewell address, Biden warned of an “enormous concentration of wealth and power,” saying that it threatened democracy.
“I have no problem with people making millions of dollars. For God’s sake, pay your fair share in taxes and participation,” he said.
He said the world was approaching an inflection point, chalking it up to changes in communications made possible by technology.
The ultra-wealthy, he said, were gaining leverage over the media as well as the economy.
The theme follows an election upended by SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who endorsed Trump after the attempt on his life in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Along with a growing number of Silicon Valley venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, Musk donated heavily in support of the candidate. He also campaigned for him in Pennsylvania ahead of Election Day.
While Trump enjoyed more public backing from the ultra-wealthy this time than in previous contests, an October 2024 analysis from Forbes found that Kamala Harris, Biden’s vice president and the loser against Trump, received significantly more support from prominent billionaires.
Biden Says He Changed ‘Basic Formula’ For the Economy
Biden told O’Donnell his administration had a transformational impact on America’s economy, criticizing supply-side, or “trickle-down,” economics.
“We changed the basic formula of how to make an economy work,” he said, saying he and his team had empowered labor unions.
He said former President Barack Obama, whom he served as vice president, did not go far enough. One of Obama’s signature bills, the 2009 Recovery Act, included $831 billion in spending amid the Great Recession.
