Full Transcript of President Bidens Farewell Address

President Biden delivered a 17-minute farewell address to the United States on Wednesday.Below is a full transcript of his speech.My fellow Americans, I’m speaking to you tonight from the Oval Office.

Before I begin, let me speak to important news from earlier today.After eight months of nonstop negotiation, my administration — by my administration — a cease-fire and a hostage deal has been reached by Israel and Hamas, the elements of which I laid out in great detail in May of this year.This plan was developed and negotiated by my team, and it will be largely implemented by the incoming administration.

That’s why I told my team to keep the incoming administration fully informed.Because that’s how it should be: Working together as Americans.

This will be my final address to you, the American people, from the Oval Office, from this desk, as president.And I’ve been thinking a lot about who we are and, maybe more importantly, who we should be.Long ago, in New York Harbor, an ironworker installed beam after beam, day after day.

He was joined by steel workers, stonemasons, engineers.They built not just a single structure, but a beacon of freedom.

The very idea of America was so big, we felt the entire world needed to see the Statue of Liberty, a gift from France after our Civil War.Like the very idea of America, it was built not by one person but by many people, from every background, and from around the world.Like America, the Statue of Liberty is not standing still.

Her foot literally steps forward atop a broken chain of human bondage.She’s on the march.

And she literally moves.She was built to sway back and forth to withstand the fury of stormy weather, to stand the test of time because storms are always coming.

She sways a few inches, but she never falls into the current below.An engineering marvel.The Statue of Liberty is also an enduring symbol of the soul of our nation, a soul shaped by forces that bring us together and by forces that pull us...