americans four years ago we launched a
great national effort
to rebuild our country to renew its
spirit
and to restore the allegiance of this
government
to its citizens in short we embarked on
a mission to make america great again
for all americans as i conclude my term
as the 45th
president of the united states i stand
before you
truly proud of what we have achieved
together
we did what we came here to do
and so much more this week we
inaugurate a new administration
and pray for its success in keeping
america safe
and prosperous we extend our best wishes
and we also want them to have luck a
very
important word i'd like to begin by
thanking just a few of the amazing
people who made our
remarkable journey possible first let me
express my overwhelming gratitude for
the love and support
of our spectacular first lady melania
let me also share my deepest
appreciation to my daughter ivanka
my son-in-law jared and to baron don
eric tiffany and lara you fill
my world with light and with joy
i also want to thank vice president mike
pence
his wonderful wife karen and the entire
pence family
thank you as well to my chief of staff
mark meadows
the dedicated members of the white house
staff
and the cabinet and all of the
incredible people across our
administration
who poured out their heart and soul to
fight for america
i also want to take a moment to thank a
truly exceptional group of people
the united states secret service my
family and i
will forever be in your debt my profound
gratitude as well to everyone in the
white house military office
the teams of marine one and air force
one
every member of the armed forces and
state and local law enforcement
all across our country most of all i
want to thank the american people
to serve as your president has been an
honor
beyond description thank you for
this extraordinary privilege and that's
what it is a great privilege and a great
honor
we must never forget that while
americans will always have our
disagreements
we are a nation of incredible decent
faithful and peace-loving citizens
who all want our country to thrive and
flourish
and be very very successful and good
we are a truly magnificent nation all
americans were horrified by the assault
on our capital
political violence is an attack on
everything we cherish as americans
it can never be tolerated now more than
ever we must unify around our shared
values
and rise above the partisan rancor and
forge our
common destiny four years ago i came to
washington as the only true outsider
ever to win the presidency i had not
spent my career as a politician
but as a builder looking at open
skylines and imagining
infinite possibilities i ran for
president because i knew there were
towering new summits for america
just waiting to be scaled i knew the
potential for our nation was boundless
as long as we put america first
so i left behind my former life and
stepped into a very difficult arena
but an arena nevertheless with all sorts
of potential
if properly done america had given me so
much and i wanted to give something back
together with millions of hard-working
patriots across this land
we built the greatest political movement
in the history of our country
we also built the greatest economy in
the history of the world
it was about america first because we
all wanted to
make america great again we restored the
principle that a nation exists
to serve as citizens our agenda was not
about
right or left it wasn't about republican
or democrat
but about the good of a nation and that
means the whole nation
with the support and prayers of the
american people
we achieved more than anyone thought
possible
nobody thought we could even come close
we passed the largest package of tax
cuts and reforms in american history
we slash more job-killing regulations
than any administration
had ever done before we fixed our broken
trade deals
withdrew from the horrible trans-pacific
partnership
and the impossible paris climate accord
renegotiated the one-sided south korea
deal
and we replaced nafta with the
groundbreaking
usmca that's mexico
and canada a deal that's worked out very
very well
also and very importantly we imposed
historic and monumental tariffs on china
made a great new deal with china
but before the ink was even dry
we and the whole world got hit with the
china virus
our trade relationship was rapidly
changing
billions and billions of dollars were
pouring into the u.s
but the virus forced us to go in a
different direction the whole world
suffered
but america outperformed other countries
economically
because of our incredible economy and
the economy that we built
without the foundations and footings it
wouldn't have worked out this way
we wouldn't have some of the best
numbers we've ever had
we also unlocked our energy resources
and became the world's number one
producer of oil and natural gas
by far powered by these policies
we built the greatest economy in the
history of the world
we reignited america's job creation and
achieved record low
unemployment for african americans
hispanic americans
asian americans women almost everyone
income soared wages boomed the american
dream was restored
and millions were lifted from poverty in
just a few
short years it was a miracle
stock market set one record after
another
with a 148 stock market highs during
this short period of time
and boosted the retirements and pensions
of hardworking citizens
all across our nation 401ks
are at a level they've never been at
before
we've never seen numbers like we've seen
and that's
before the pandemic and after the
pandemic
we rebuilt the american manufacturing
base
opened up thousands of new factories and
brought
back the beautiful phrase made in the
usa
to make life better for working families
we doubled the child tax credit
and signed the largest ever expansion of
funding
for child care and development we joined
with the private sector to secure
commitments to train more than 16
million american workers
for the jobs of tomorrow when our nation
was hit with the terrible pandemic
we produce not one but two vaccines
with record-breaking speed and more will
quickly follow
they said it couldn't be done but we did
it they called it a medical
miracle and that's what they're calling
it right now
a medical miracle another administration
would have taken
three four five maybe even up to
ten years to develop a vaccine we did it
in nine
months we grieve for every life lost
and we pledge in their memory to wipe
out this horrible pandemic
once and for all when the virus took its
brutal toll on the world's economy
we launched the fastest economic
recovery our country has ever seen
we passed nearly four trillion dollars
in economic relief
saved or supported over 50 million jobs
and slashed the unemployment rate in
half
these are numbers that our country has
never seen before
we created choice and transparency in
health care
stood up to big pharma in so many ways
but especially in our effort to get
favored nations clauses added which will
give us the lowest prescription drug
prices
anywhere in the world we pass va choice
va accountability right to try and
landmark
criminal justice reform we confirmed
three new justices of the united states
supreme court
we appointed nearly 300 federal judges
to interpret our constitution as written
for years the american people pleaded
with washington to finally secure the
nation's borders
i am pleased to say we answered that
plea and achieved
the most secure border in u.s history
we have given our brave border agents
and heroic ice officers
the tools they need to do their jobs
better than they have ever done before
and to enforce our laws and keep america
safe we proudly leave the next
administration with the strongest and
most robust border security measures
ever put into place this includes
historic agreements with mexico
guatemala honduras and el salvador
along with more than 450 miles of
powerful
new wall we restored american strength
at home
and american leadership abroad the world
respects us
again please don't lose
that respect we reclaimed our
sovereignty by standing up for america
at the united nations
and withdrawing from the one-sided
global deals that never served our
interests
and nato countries are now paying
hundreds of billions of dollars more
than when i arrived
just a few years ago it was very unfair
we were paying the cost for the world
now the world is helping us
and perhaps most importantly of all with
nearly three trillion dollars
we fully rebuilt the american military
all made in the usa we launched the
first new branch of the united states
armed forces in 75 years the space force
and last spring i stood at kennedy space
center in florida
and watched as american astronauts
returned to space
on american rockets for the first time
in many many years
we revitalized our alliances and rallied
the nations of the world to stand up to
china like never before
we obliterated the isis caliphate and
ended the wretched life of its founder
and leader
al baghdadi we stood up to the
oppressive iranian regime
and killed the world's top terrorist
iranian butcher kasem
solomani we recognized jerusalem as the
capital of israel
and recognized israeli sovereignty over
the golan heights
as a result of our bold diplomacy and
principled realism
we achieved a series of historic peace
deals in the middle east
nobody believed it could happen the
abraham accords opened the doors to a
future of peace and harmony
not violence and bloodshed it is the
dawn of a new middle east
and we are bringing our soldiers home i
am especially proud to be the first
president in decades
who has started no new wars
above all we have reasserted the sacred
idea
that in america the government answers
to
the people our guiding light our north
star
our unwavering conviction has been that
we are here to serve the noble everyday
citizens of america
our allegiance is not to the special
interests corporations or global
entities
it's to our children our citizens and to
our nation
itself as president my top priority
my constant concern has always been the
best interests of american workers and
american families
i did not seek the easiest course by far
it was actually the most difficult i did
not seek the path
that would get the least criticism i
took on the tough battles
the hardest fights the most difficult
choices
because that's what you elected me to do
your needs were my first and last
unyielding focus
this i hope will be our greatest legacy
together we put the american people back
in charge of our country
we restored self-government we restored
the idea that in america
no one is forgotten because everyone
matters and
everyone has a voice we fought for the
principle that every citizen is entitled
to equal
dignity equal treatment and equal rights
because we are all made equal by god
everyone is entitled to be treated with
respect
to have their voice heard and to have
their government
listen you are loyal to your country and
my
administration was always loyal to you
we work to build a country in which
every citizen could find a great job
and support their wonderful families we
fought for the communities where every
american could be safe
and schools where every child could
learn we promoted a culture where our
laws would be upheld
our heroes honored our history preserved
and law-abiding citizens are never taken
for granted
americans should take tremendous
satisfaction in all that we have
achieved together
it's incredible now as i leave the white
house
i have been reflecting on the dangers
that threatened the priceless
inheritance
we all share as the world's most
powerful nation
america faces constant threats and
challenges from abroad
but the greatest danger we face is a
loss of confidence in ourselves
a loss of confidence in our national
greatness
a nation is only as strong as its spirit
we are only as dynamic as our pride
we are only as vibrant as the faith that
beats in the hearts of our people
no nation can long thrive that loses
faith in its own values
history and heroes for these are the
very sources of our unity
and our vitality what has always allowed
america to prevail in triumph
over the great challenges of the past
has been an unyielding and
unashamed conviction in the nobility of
our country
and its unique purpose in history we
must never lose this conviction
we must never forsake our belief in
america
the key to national greatness lies in
sustaining and
instilling our shared national identity
that means focusing on
what we have in common the heritage that
we all
share at the center of this heritage is
also a robust belief
in free expression free speech and open
debate
only if we forget who we are
and how we got here could we ever allow
political censorship
and blacklisting to take place in
america
it's not even thinkable shutting down
free and open debate violates our core
values
and most enduring traditions in america
we don't insist on
absolute conformity or enforce rigid
orthodoxies and punitive speech codes
we just don't do that america is not a
timid nation
of tame souls who need to be sheltered
and protected
from those with whom we disagree that's
not who we are
it will never be who we are for nearly
250 years
in the face of every challenge americans
have always summoned our
unmatched courage confidence and fierce
independence
these are the miraculous traits that
once led millions of
everyday citizens to set out across a
wild continent
and carve out a new life in the great
west
it was the same profound love of our
god-given freedom
that willed our soldiers into battle and
our astronauts into space
as i think back on the past four years
one image
rises in my mind above all others
whenever i traveled all along the
motorcade route
there were thousands and thousands of
people they came out with their families
so that they could stand as we passed
and proudly waive our great american
flag it never failed to deeply move me
i knew that they did not just come out
to show their support of me
they came out to show me their support
and love
for our country this is a republic of
proud citizens
who are united by our common conviction
that america is the greatest nation in
all of history
we are and must always be a land of hope
of light and of glory to all the world
this is the precious inheritance that we
must safeguard at
every single turn for the past four
years i have worked to do just that
from a great hall of muslim leaders in
riyadh
to a great square of polish people in
warsaw
from the floor of the korean assembly to
the podium
at the united nations general assembly
and from the forbidden city in beijing
to the shadow of mount rushmore i fought
for you
i fought for your family i fought for
our country above all i fought for
america and all it stands for and that
is safe
strong proud and free now as i prepare
to hand power over to a new
administration
at noon on wednesday i want you to know
that the movement we started
is only just beginning there's never
been anything
like it the belief that a nation must
serve its citizens
will not dwindle but instead only grow
stronger by the day
as long as the american people hold in
their hearts
deep and devoted love of country then
there is nothing that this nation cannot
achieve
our communities will flourish our people
will be prosperous
our traditions will be cherished our
faith will be strong
and our future will be brighter than
ever before
i go from this majestic place with a
loyal and joyful heart and optimistic
spirit
and a supreme confidence that for our
country
and for our children the best is yet
to come thank you and farewell
god bless you god bless the united
states of america