00:00My fellow Americans, I'm speaking to you tonight from behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval
00:06Office.
00:07In this sacred space, I'm surrounded by portraits of extraordinary American presidents.
00:14Thomas Jefferson wrote the immortal words that guide this nation.
00:18George Washington, who showed us presidents are not kings.
00:23Abraham Lincoln, who implored us to reject malice.
00:28Franklin Roosevelt, who inspired us to reject fear.
00:33I revere this office, but I love my country more.
00:37It's been the honor of my life to serve as your president.
00:42But in the defense of democracy, which is at stake, I think it's more important than
00:46any title, I draw strength and I find joy in working for the American people.
00:53But this sacred task of perfecting our union, it's not about me.
00:58It's about you, your families, your futures.
01:03It's about we, the people.
01:06We can never forget that, and I never have.
01:11I've made it clear that I believe America is at an inflection point.
01:16On those rare moments in history, when the decisions we make now determine our fate of
01:21our nation and the world for decades to come, America's going to have to choose between
01:28moving forward or backward, between hope and hate, between unity and division.
01:36We have to decide do we still believe in honesty, decency, respect, freedom, justice, and democracy?
01:44In this moment, we can see those we disagree with not as enemies, but as fellow Americans.
01:52Can we do that?
01:54Does character in public life still matter?
01:58I believe I know the answer to these questions, because I know you, the American people.
02:03And I know this, we are a great nation because we are good people.
02:10When you elected me to this office, I promised to always level with you, to tell you the truth.
02:19The truth, the sacred cause of this country is larger than any one of us.
02:25Those of us who cherish that cause, cherish it so much, the cause of American democracy
02:31itself, must unite to protect it.
02:35You know, in recent weeks, it's become clear to me that I need to unite my party in this
02:41critical endeavor.
02:42I believe, my record as president, my leadership in the world, my vision for America's future,
02:51all merited a second term, but nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy.
02:59That includes personal ambition.
03:02So I've decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation.
03:08It's the best way to unite our nation.
03:12You know, there is a time and a place for long years of experience in public life.
03:17There's also a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices, yes, younger voices.
03:23And that time and place is now.
03:27Over the next six months, I'll be focused on doing my job as president.
03:33That means I'll continue to lower costs for hardworking families, grow our economy.
03:39I'll keep defending our personal freedoms and our civil rights, from the right to vote
03:43to the right to choose.
03:46I'll keep calling out hate and extremism, making clear there is no place, no place in
03:51America for political violence or any violence at ever, period.
03:57I'm going to keep speaking out to protect our kids from gun violence, our planet from
04:03climate crisis that is the existential threat, and I will keep fighting for my cancer moonshot
04:10so we can end cancer as we know it, because we can do it.
04:15I'm going to call for Supreme Court reform, because this is critical to our democracy,
04:21Supreme Court reform.
04:24You know, I'll keep working to ensure America remains strong, secure, and the leader of
04:31the free world.
04:33I'm the first president in this century to report to the American people that the United
04:38States is not at war anywhere in the world.
04:42We'll keep rallying a coalition of proud nations to stop Putin from taking over Ukraine,
04:48doing more damage.
04:50We'll keep NATO stronger, and I'll make it more powerful and more united than any time
04:55in all of our history.
04:57I'll keep doing the same for allies in the Pacific.
05:00You know, when I came to office, the conventional wisdom was that China would inevitably surpass
05:07the United States.
05:10That's not the case anymore, and I'm going to keep working to end the war in Gaza, bring
05:16home all the hostages, and bring peace and security to the Middle East and end this war.
05:23We're also working around the clock to bring home Americans being unjustly detained all
05:27around the world.
05:30You know, we've come so far since my inauguration.
05:35On that day, I told you, as I stood in that winter, we were stood in a winter of peril
05:42and winter of possibilities, peril of possibilities.
05:47We're in the grip of the war.
05:48We were in the grip of the worst pandemic in the century, the worst economic crisis
05:52since the Great Depression, the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.
06:00We came together as Americans.
06:02We got through it.
06:04We emerged stronger, more prosperous, and more secure.
06:07Today we have the strongest economy in the world, creating nearly 16 million new jobs
06:11a record.
06:13Wages are up.
06:14Inflation continues to come down.
06:16The racial wealth gap is the lowest it's been in 20 years.
06:20We're literally rebuilding our entire nation, urban, suburban, rural, and tribal communities.
06:26Manufacturing has come back to America.
06:28We're leading the world again in chips and science and innovation.
06:33We finally beat Big Pharma after all these years to lower the cost of prescription drugs
06:38for seniors.
06:39And I'm going to keep fighting to make sure we lower the cost for everyone, not just seniors.
06:45More people have health care today in America than ever before.
06:47And I signed one of the most significant laws helping millions of veterans and their families
06:53who are exposed to toxic materials, you know, the most significant climate law ever, ever
07:01in the history of the world.
07:03The first major gun safety law in 30 years.
07:07Today, violent crime rate is at a 50-year low.
07:12We're also securing our border.
07:15Border crossings are lower today than when the previous administration left office.
07:20I've kept my commitment to appoint the first black woman to the Supreme Court of the United
07:24States of America.
07:26I also kept my commitment to have an administration that looks like America, and be a president
07:31for all Americans.
07:34That's what I've done.
07:37I ran for president four years ago because I believed and still do that the soul of America
07:42was at stake.
07:43The very nature of who we are was at stake, and that's still the case.
07:50America is an idea, an idea stronger than any army, bigger than any ocean, more powerful
07:57than any dictator or tyrant.
07:59It's the most powerful idea in the history of the world.
08:03That idea is that we hold these truths to be self-evident.
08:05We're all created equal.
08:08In Dalai Lama, there's certainly inalienable rights, life, liberty, pursuit of happiness.
08:15We've never fully lived up to it, to this sacred idea, but we've never walked away from
08:19it either.
08:20And I do not believe the American people will walk away from it now.
08:26Just a few months, the American people will choose the course of America's future.
08:32I made my choice.
08:33I made my views known.
08:37I'd like to thank our great Vice President Kamala Harris.
08:40She experienced, she's tough, she's capable.
08:44She's been an incredible partner to me and a leader for our country.
08:49Now the choice is up to you, the American people.
08:52When you make that choice, remember the words of Benjamin Franklin's hanging on my wall
08:57here in the Oval Office alongside the bust of Dr. King and Rosa Parks and Cesar Chavez.
09:05When Ben Franklin was asked, as he emerged from the convention going on, whether the
09:13founders have given America a monarchy or a republic, Franklin's response was, a republic,
09:21if you can keep it, a republic, if you can keep it.
09:27Whether we keep our republic is now in your hands.
09:30My fellow Americans, it's been the privilege of my life to serve this nation for over 50
09:36years.
09:37Where else on earth could a kid with a stutter, from modest beginnings in Scranton, Pennsylvania,
09:44Claymont, Delaware, one day sit behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office as President
09:50of the United States?
09:51But here I am.
09:52That's what's so special about America.
09:55We're a nation of promise and possibilities, of dreamers and doers, of ordinary Americans
10:02doing extraordinary things.
10:05I've given my heart and my soul to our nation, like so many others.
10:10I've been blessed a million times in return with the love and support of the American
10:16people.
10:17I hope you have some idea how grateful I am to all of you.
10:22The great thing about America is here kings and dictators do not rule, the people do.
10:31History is in your hands.
10:33The power is in your hands.
10:35The idea of America lies in your hands.
10:38We just have to keep faith, keep the faith.
10:41And remember who we are.
10:43We're the United States of America.
10:45And there's simply nothing, nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together.
10:52So let's act together, preserve our democracy.
10:56God bless you all.
10:57And may God protect our troops.
10:59Thank you.
Comments