Above all, we have reasserted the sacred idea that in America the government answers to the people. Our guiding lights are north star(?) and our unwavering conviction has been that we are here to serve the noble everyday citizens of America. Out allegiance is not to the special interest, co-operations and global entities. It is to our children, out citizens and to our nation itself. As president my top priority, my constant concern has always been the best interest 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 is 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 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 worked 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 will be upheld, out heroes honoured, out 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 threaten 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 the hearts of our people. No nation can long strive 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 trial over the great challenges of the past has been an unyielding and unshaken(?) 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 out shared national identity. That means focusing on what we have in common, the heritage that we all share. At the center of this heritage, it’s 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 is 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 with all enforced 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 the 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 out soldiers into battle and out astronauts into space. As I think back on the past 4 years, one image rises in my mind above all others. Whenever I travelled all along the motorcade road, there were thousands and thousands of people. They came out with their families so that they could stand as we passed and proudly wave our great American flag. It never failed to deeply move me. I knew they did not just come to show their support for me. They came out to show me their support and love for our country. This is the republic’s proud citizens, who are united by our common conviction that America is the greatest nation in all of the history. We are and must always be a land of hope, of light and of glory to all the world. This is the precious heritance that we must safeguard at ever single turn. For the past 4 years, I have worked to do just that. From the great hall of Muslim leaders of Iran (?) to a great square of Polish people of Warsaw, from the floor of 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 and I fought for our country. Above all, I fought for America and all it stands for. And hat is safe, strong, proud and free.

Now as I have prepared to hand power over to a new administration, as you knew 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 the nation must serve its citizens will not dwindle, but instead, only grow stronger by the day. As long as the American people hold their heats, deep and devoted love of their country, then there is nothing that this nation cannot achieve. Our communities will flourish. Out people will be prosperous. Our traditions will be cherished. Our faith will be strong and out future will be brighter than ever before. I go from this majestic place with a loyal and joyful heart and an 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.