“You can’t sugarcoat it. These are dark days,” Biden said.

In his remarks to nearly 1,100 members of a predominantly black legal organization, Biden slammed the Trump administration’s efforts in its first few months.

“We are, in my view, at such a moment in American history, reflected in every cruel executive outreach, every rollback of basic freedoms, every erosion of long-standing, established precedent,” he said.

Biden said the Trump administration is trying to “erase truth” and said Congress is “sitting on the sidelines.”

“My friends, we need to face the hard truth of this administration, and that it has been to erase all the gains we’ve made in my administration,” Biden said. “To erase history rather than making it. To erase fairness, equality, to erase justice itself. And that’s not hyperbole. That’s a fact.”

The former president added that the Trump administration is “cruel,” and criticized it for arresting legal immigrants.

Fmr. Pres. Biden: “There are moments so stark that they divide all that came before and 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.” pic.twitter.com/SHhij2OGPg

— CSPAN (@cspan) August 1, 2025

During his remarks, Biden also catered to the black crowd, referencing Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination.

“I didn’t just see the pain. I felt it,” he said.

Biden also praised former President Lyndon B. Johnson for signing the Civil Rights Act, hailed his appointments of black women to the courts, and reminded the crowd of his support for historically black colleges and universities.

Each line of the former president’s remarks drew applause. Despite his recent diagnosis of prostate cancer and advancing age, Biden, 82, speaking for approximately 20 minutes, clearly expressed that the United States is standing at a crossroads.

“There are moments so stark that they divide all that came before and everything that followed. Moments that force us to confront hard truths about ourselves, our institutions, and democracy itself,” Biden said.

Biden also said he believes “law firms are bowing” to the pressure of the Trump administration, which has persecuted several large law firms for actions it dictates as anti-Trump. These actions have resulted in deals being made for millions of dollars in pro bono legal services to avoid Trump’s ire.

Some of these law firms have resisted, while others have made deals to avoid being targeted. Firms such as Paul, Weiss, the Skadden law firm, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher, the employer of former second gentleman Doug Emhoff, have reached agreements with the Trump administration.

Critics of the Trump administration’s persecution of law firms have pointed out that it could set a dangerous precedent.

“The impact of these executive extortions extends beyond the targeted firms. They create a chilling effect on the entire legal profession, potentially deterring lawyers from representing clients or causes that may oppose the administration,” Rep. Brad Sherman’s (D-CA) office said in a statement.

LONGTIME BIDEN AIDE MIKE DONILON APPEARS FOR HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE AUTOPEN INQUIRY

Biden, who has been largely under the radar since stepping down as the Democratic presidential nominee in July of last year, making way for former Vice President Kamala Harris, has been facing backlash for the autopen controversy. He has also continued to fight allegations that he was unfit to serve during his presidency, despite some Democrats’ beliefs that he was a political liability throughout Harris’s campaign.

Now, Biden is writing a memoir and continuing to keep a relatively low profile outside of speaking engagements. Harris also returned to the public eye Thursday night in an interview with Stephen Colbert.