Copyright The Boston Globe
In one of his few public appearances since leaving office in January, former president Joe Biden urged Americans Sunday night to “get up” and “fight like hell” to defend democracy, as he accepted a lifetime achievement award from the Edward M. Kennedy Institute. He warned that “the idea of America depends on our respect for the institutions of government that guarantee a free society,” including “a presidency with limited power, a functioning Congress, an autonomous judiciary, and a free and independent press” — institutions he said are now under threat. “Over 50 years in elected public life, this is the worst I’ve seen it,” he said, referring to the current political climate. Even so, he said he remains optimistic. “Time and again, in crisis, we Americans have summoned the better angels of our nature and brought our country back from the abyss,” Biden said. The call to action came on stage in Boston after he received an award recognizing his decades of public service during the Edward M. Kennedy Institute’s 10th-anniversary celebration. Also honored were former Boston mayor and former US labor secretary Martin J. Walsh, and Admiral Lisa Franchetti, a retired US naval officer who served as chief of naval operations from 2023 to 2025, the first woman to hold that position. Advertisement During his speech, Walsh reflected on his decades in public service and the lessons he carried from Boston to Washington, D.C. He said Biden had appointed him to “help heal our country” after the pandemic. Walsh praised Biden as “the most worker-friendly president in the history of the United States.” “He wanted to make sure the policies we put in place protected every worker that walked out their front door in the morning and came home safely at night,” Walsh said. Franchetti reflected on the expanded opportunities for women that made her Navy career possible. She noted that when she was commissioned in 1985, women were barred from combat ships, a policy repealed eight years later. “You can fast-forward 30 years to my Senate confirmation … and see that the very last door is now wide open,” she said. Advertisement Sunday’s ceremony marked 10 years of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, a nonprofit civic education center at Columbia Point on the UMass Boston campus. Bruce Percelay, chair of the institute’s board of directors, said the event raised more than $3 million to support the institute’s operations. “In the past five years, we have become the leading voice for bipartisanship in the country,” said Percelay, noting that the institute’s board includes former Democratic and Republican US senators and that its full-scale replica of the Senate chamber regularly hosts televised debates between lawmakers from across the political spectrum. As he neared the end of his remarks, Biden’s voice rose to a shout. “It’s time to get back up. It’s time to get reengaged,” he said. “Fight like hell. Fight like Teddy would fight. That’s what we owe each other. Get up, America. Get up now.” Nathan Metcalf can be reached at nathan.metcalf@globe.com. Follow him on Instagram @natpat_123.
