At the National Bar Association’s 100th annual gala in Chicago on Thursday evening, former President Joe Biden delivered sharp criticism of President Donald Trump, portraying his administration as a direct threat to civil rights and the progress made by marginalized communities.
“Not since those tumultuous days in the 1960s has this fight been so existential to who we are as a nation, with marginalized groups so dramatically under attack,” Biden said before receiving the C. Francis Stradford Award, named after a co-founder of the historic Black legal association.
“My friends, we need to face the hard truth of this administration, and that it has been to ease all the gains we’ve made in my administration,” he added. “To erase history rather than making it. To erase fairness, equality, to erase justice itself. And that’s not hyperbole. That’s a fact.”
Raising his voice, Biden emphasized the stakes: “Folks, in all our lives, the life of our nation, there are moments so stark that they divide all that came before from everything that followed—moments that force us to confront hard truths about ourselves, our institutions, and democracy itself.”
“We are, in my view, at such a moment in American history,” he continued. “Reflected in every cruel executive outreach, every rollback of basic freedoms, every erosion of long-standing, established precedent.”
Biden highlighted his record on judicial appointments, noting that his administration had nominated more Black women to the U.S. courts of appeals “than every other president in American history combined.”
He urged continued resistance to President Trump’s administration, with a particular focus on the judiciary.
“Judges matter, courts matter, the law matters, and the Constitution matters. I think a lot of Americans are starting to realize that under the pressure under now with this guy we have as president,” he said.
Biden also criticized Congress and the Supreme Court, stating they were complicit in regressive policies. “They’re doing it all too often with the help of a Congress that is just sitting on the sidelines and enabled by the highest court in the nation. The rulings they’ve made, my god.”
“He seems to be doing his best to dismantle the Constitution,” Biden charged. “These are dark days, but you’re all here for the same reason I left that prestigious law firm to go to the defender’s office years ago. It’s because our future is literally on the line and we must be unapologetic in fighting for the future.”
Though free of major gaffes, Biden slurred and stumbled through portions of his speech. At one point, he lightened the mood with a self-deprecating joke: “When I was elected, I had the dubious distinction to be elected the youngest senator in American history and the oldest president in American history. It’s hell turning 40 twice.”
The gala included several prominent speakers such as Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, MSNBC commentator Joy-Ann Reid, and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
National Bar Association President Wiley Adams praised Biden, saying in a statement: “President Biden’s life and leadership reflect an unwavering commitment to the rule of law and the promise of justice for all.”
“[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,” Adams added.
Biden’s remarks came two months after his son, Hunter Biden, agreed to voluntary disbarment following allegations of drug use and violations of gun laws.
His appearance also coincided with renewed media focus on his son. Earlier in July, Hunter Biden participated in an extended interview from Delaware, in which he criticized President Trump and other Democratic figures, including David Axelrod. He also discussed his past crack cocaine addiction.
That same area had previously been the setting of a legal incident in which a gun registered to Hunter Biden was discovered in a dumpster near the A.I. duPont school in Greenville, Delaware. Hallie Biden—widow of Beau Biden and then in a relationship with Hunter—had found the weapon and disposed of it there.
A man named Edward Banner, who had been searching through the dumpster for bottles to redeem, found the firearm and later testified in the case.
When registering the firearm, Hunter Biden had sworn he was not using controlled substances—a claim that led to a criminal case and his eventual disbarment in Washington, D.C.
In June 2024, District of Columbia Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby signed an order suspending his law license. Hunter had earlier filed a sealed affidavit in April consenting to disbarment, avoiding a court hearing.
Biden’s speech also followed testimony earlier that day by longtime aide Michael Donilon, who appeared before House Oversight Committee investigators. A source told Fox News Digital that Donilon revealed he might have received as much as $8 million had Biden been re-elected in 2024.
Addressing concerns about Biden’s cognitive health, Donilon testified that “every President ages over the four years of a presidency and President Biden did as well, but he also continued to grow stronger and wiser as a leader as a result of being tested by some of the most difficult challenges any President has ever faced.”
The National Bar Association—formed in Iowa when the American Bar Association excluded Black attorneys—is now headquartered in Washington, D.C., and counts around 66,000 members who advocate for civil rights, diversity in the legal profession, and broader access to justice.
The organization emphasized that Biden’s participation in its centennial gala “underscores his ongoing efforts to strengthen the rule of law, defend voting rights, and support historically marginalized communities.”
