Biden set to give two final speeches as he looks to secure legacy before Trump’s return

President Joe Biden is set to leave office in two weeks as Donald Trump returns to the White House

President Joe Biden plans to deliver two final speeches as he seeks to underscore his legacy before leaving office and making way for President-elect Donald Trump, according to a report.

His first speech, which Biden intends to deliver after he comes back from Italy on January 12, will be dedicated to foreign policy, NBC News reported. His second and final speech as president will be a farewell address reflecting on his 50-plus years in public service.

Neither speech has been fully drafted, but the broad strokes of them have been established, sources told the outlet.

The president’s initial speech will likely highlight his stance that the country is “stronger when it invests in its alliances across the world,” the outlet noted.

His foreign policy remarks are expected to highlight his efforts to strengthen NATO, the nation’s commitment to the Indo-Pacific and his years-long support for Ukraine.

It’s unclear how much of the speech will address the U.S.’s 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan after nearly two decades of war in the country, the outlet noted. The move resulted in the deaths of 13 U.S. Service Members and sparked scrutiny by Trump and Republicans.

President Joe Biden speaks alongside Medal of Valor recipients in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Saturday. He is set to give two final addresses in his last days in office (AFP via Getty Images)

It’s also unclear if the president plans to address the war in Gaza that has raged since October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing roughly 1,200 people and taking another 250 people hostage.

Biden may also mention his administration’s work toward combating terrorist groups, but may not spend too much time on domestic terrorist threats, given the recent attack in New Orleans committed by Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. citizen who carried an ISIS flag in his truck when he rammed into a crowd on Bourbon Street, killing 14 and injuring dozens, authorities said.

In the wake of the massacre, Biden said Jabbar posted social media videos “indicating he was inspired by ISIS, expressing a desire to kill.”

In his farewell speech, which Biden expected to give in his final days as president, the president is anticipated to deliver parting words about the future as well as look back on his more than five decades in public service.

He became a senator in 1973, a position he served until 2009, when he became Barack Obama’s vice president. Four years after leaving office, in 2020, Biden defeated Trump, who is nearing a return to the White House on January 20.

Biden spent Saturday awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 19 recipients, including Michael J. Fox, Anna Wintour, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

He is scheduled to visit Rome from January 9 to January 12 to “meet with Italy’s leaders to highlight the strength of the U.S.-Italy relationship, thank Prime Minister [Giorgia] Meloni for her strong leadership of the G7 over the past year, and discuss important challenges facing the world,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday.