President Joe Biden’s Authoritarian-Themed Speech Sparks Controversy Over NGO Ties and Taxpayer Funding

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Philadelphia, PA – September 1, 2025 – Three years ago, on September 1, 2022, President Joe Biden delivered a fiery speech outside Independence Hall, titled “The Battle for the Soul of the Nation,” that has resurfaced in heated debates. Delivered against a dramatic red backdrop, the address labeled MAGA Republicans as an “extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic” and warned that “democracy cannot survive when one side believes there are only two outcomes to an election: either they win or they were cheated.” The speech, widely interpreted as an authoritarian pivot, has drawn fresh scrutiny following revelations about the advisors behind it and their lucrative connections to taxpayer-funded NGOs, some linked to the recent “robbery of the US treasury” uncovered by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).Biden’s speech, broadcast during prime time, featured advisors like Sean Wilentz, Allida Black, Anne Applebaum, Michael Beschloss, and Jon Meacham, whose influence has come under the microscope. According to a detailed thread by X user

@DataRepublican, these individuals have amassed fortunes and influence through their affiliations with organizations like the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). The NDI, a subsidiary of NED, boasts a $171 million budget, largely taxpayer-funded, with lavish travel expenses and housing allowances, as evidenced by its financial disclosures. Black, an advisor to Hillary Clinton, has worked for NDI, while Applebaum, a former NED board member, currently advises the Renew Democracy Initiative. Meacham’s ties to the Council on Foreign Relations further entangle this network.The financial windfall for these advisors is staggering. Beschloss’s wife heads the Rock Creek Group, managing over $16 billion in assets, while NDI’s board includes high-profile figures like Randi Weingarten and Stacey Abrams, amplifying its political clout. These NGOs, critics argue, have not only shaped Biden’s rhetoric but also benefited from a system where “entities who allocate the budget, receive the money, and decide where the billions go are all the same,” as

@DataRepublican noted. This conflict of interest was highlighted by DOGE’s recent findings, which exposed billions lost to fraud and improper payments, implicating similar taxpayer-funded entities.The significance of these connections cannot be overstated. “Our own taxpayer dollars are actively financing people who are spreading the word that anyone who supports President Trump is an enemy of democracy,”

@DataRepublican warned. Wilentz’s co-signed open letter and Applebaum’s 2024 tweets accusing Trump of undermining democracy underscore a persistent narrative. Black’s retweets of Clinton and Beschloss’s push for heightened election rhetoric in 2024 suggest these advisors remain committed to framing 74 million Trump supporters as a national threat.This revelation has fueled calls for accountability. The DOGE subcommittee, chaired by figures like Rep. Tim Burchett, has vowed to root out waste and fraud, with Burchett blasting Democrats for defending such schemes. The intertwining of NGO profits with political agendas raises questions about the integrity of public funds, especially as Biden’s speech foreshadowed potential “deplatforming, sweeping arrests, mandates” should a friendly administration return, as

@DataRepublican predicted. Critics argue that the 2022 speech, with its ominous tone and militaristic staging, was less a call for unity and more a declaration of war on dissent, orchestrated by a clique profiting from the very system they critique. As the nation approaches future elections, the debate over who controls the narrative—and the treasury—grows ever more urgent. For now, the red-lit image of Biden at Independence Hall stands as a symbol of a divided nation, where taxpayer dollars fuel a battle that may yet redefine its soul.

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