President Joe Biden plans to deliver two major speeches before leaving office as part of an effort to outline what he sees as key parts of his legacy of more than 50 years in public service, according to two people familiar with the plans.
The first speech will focus on foreign policy and is expected to be delivered sometime after Biden returns on Jan. 12 from a trip to Italy, these people said. They said Biden plans to close his final days in the White House with a farewell address to the country.
Neither speech has been fully drafted, sources familiar with the president’s plans said, but the outlines and themes of both have been developed.
In his farewell address, Biden is expected to offer a message to Americans for the future and reflect on his decades in public office, including his four years in the White House, according to people familiar with the president’s plans.
The traditional speech is expected to channel a spirit similar to the farewell sentiments offered by some of Biden’s recent predecessors, including former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, who delivered their farewell addresses from the White House, and the former President Barack Obama, who chose to speak to the nation from his hometown of Chicago in front of a large audience of supporters.
After losing the 2020 election, President-elect Donald Trump posted a pre-recorded video message online the day before Biden took office.
Biden’s foreign policy speech will focus on his belief that the United States is stronger when it invests in its alliances around the world, according to people familiar with the president’s speeches. Biden is expected to highlight his efforts to expand and strengthen the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and US relations in the Indo-Pacific, as well as his administration’s military and financial support for Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in 2022.
It is unclear to what extent the speech could affect Biden’s decision to order the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, which has been widely criticized and led to the deaths of 13 US service members.
Biden is likely to reference his administration’s efforts to combat terrorist groups, including ISIS, but the speech is not expected to expand on domestic terrorism threats following the New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans, they said. people familiar with the president’s plans.
The administration is considering additional steps it could take before Biden leaves office to try to help prevent attacks fueled by homegrown radicalization, a person familiar with the discussions said.
The president is planning a busy last two weeks in office. He plans to travel to New Orleans on Monday to meet with relatives of the victims of the attack there, as well as local officials. He will then visit California to highlight his environmental record, including new national monument designations.
On Thursday, Biden is scheduled to travel to Rome and Vatican City for a three-day visit, likely his last international trip in office.
And before leaving the White House on Jan. 20, the president is expected to grant additional pardons, specifically focused on sentencing disparities, a person familiar with the plans said. This person said Biden has not decided whether he will preemptively pardon people who could be targeted for retaliation by the new Trump administration, although Biden would not pardon anyone who does not want to be pardoned.
