Former President Joe Biden, in his return to the public spotlight, addressed the National Bar Association's gala in Chicago on Thursday evening, where he was honored with the C. Francis Stradford Award, according to a report from the Chicago Sun-Times. The award is named after one of the co-founders of the historic Black legal organization, which is marking its 100th year.
Biden’s remarks were pointedly critical of his successor, President Donald Trump, declaring in his speech a stark division in the country's history due to current executive actions and policies. While not mentioning Trump by name, Biden asserted the present administration is "dismantling the Constitution," the Sun-Times documented. His words echoed his earlier concerns put forth in April at a national gathering of advocates for people with disabilities, signaling a sustained critique of his predecessor’s governance.
His comments zoomed in on the importance of the judiciary, emphasizing with energy, "Judges matter, courts matter, the law matters, and the constitution matters." This sentiment identified the courts as a battleground for what he sees as a crucial defense of democratic principles. Biden also voiced concern over executive actions that he believes roll back freedoms and affect marginalized communities, particularly targeting voter access and immigrant rights.
Biden's health, a relevant topic since he disclosed a prostate cancer diagnosis two months ago, was a noted absence in his speech despite his high energy levels. National Bar Association President Wiley Adams had expressed an interest in hearing how Biden was navigating his health challenges; however, the former president steered clear of the subject. Instead, "Our prayers go out to him," Wiley told a group that included Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., and Rev. Jesse Jackson Jr., as stated in the Sun-Times.
Throughout Biden's speech, he cast himself as an ally to the civil rights movement and touted his administration's record of appointing Black women to the U.S. courts of appeals, claiming more such appointments "than every other president in American history combined," according to his remarks captured by Fox News. His call to resistance against what he terms as the existential threats posed by Trump's administration was not just a reflection on the past, but a push for action. Biden ended his remarks with a note on persistence and unapologetic fighting for the future, leveraging his own story from leaving a prestigious law firm to work at a defender's office.
The National Bar Association gala also featured speeches from other prominent figures in the legal community, among them Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul. Wiley Adams summed up the event’s significance and Biden’s role in it, stating, "[I]t is not only historic but also deeply meaningful to have the 46th President of the United States join us in honoring the transformative power of the law—and the enduring fight to protect our democracy," as reported by Fox News.
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