Former US president on Sunday addressed Trump\u2019s agenda while being honored at Kennedy Institute in Boston<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joe Biden has decried \u201cdark days\u201d for the US under Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s hardline presidency as he urged Americans to stay optimistic and not to \u201ccheck out\u201d from the way White House politics under his successor is affecting the nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The former US president was speaking publicly for the first time since completing a round of radiation therapy for an aggressive form of prostate cancer, in a speech on Sunday night that addressed Trump\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Biden spoke of attacks on free speech and Trump\u2019s tests on the limits of executive power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSince its founding, America served as a beacon for the most powerful idea ever in government in the history of the world,\u201d Biden said. \u201cThe idea is stronger than any army. We\u2019re more powerful than any dictator.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The former Democratic president, 82, addressed an audience in Boston after receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Edward M Kennedy Institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said the US depended on a presidency with limited power, a functioning US Congress and an autonomous judiciary, as the three co-equal branches of government. With the federal government facing one of the longest shutdowns on record, Trump has used the funding lapse as a way to exercise new command over the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFriends, I can\u2019t sugarcoat any of this. These are dark days,\u201d Biden said before predicting the country would \u201cfind our true compass again\u201d and \u201cemerge as we always have \u2013 stronger, wiser and more resilient, more just, so long as we keep the faith.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Biden listed examples of people who were standing their ground against threats from the current administration, citing the example of federal employees who resign in protest, and universities and comedians that have been targeted by Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe late-night hosts continue to shine a light on free speech knowing their careers are on the line,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Biden also gave shout-outs for any elected Republican officials who vote or openly go against the Trump administration<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAmerica is not a fairytale,\u201d he said. \u201cFor 250 years, it\u2019s been a constant push and pull, an existential struggle between peril and possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He finished the speech by telling people to \u201cget back up\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Democrat left office in January after serving one term in the White House. Biden dropped his bid for re-election after facing pressure after a disastrous debate against Trump and concerns about his age, health and mental fitness. Former US vice-president Kamala Harris<\/a> launched her bid right after, but lost to Trump last November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In May, Biden\u2019s post presidential office announced that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and that it had spread to his bones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n