President Biden penned a letter ahead of his farewell address on Wednesday night, highlighting his accomplishments over four years and calling on Americans to build on his progress.
Biden outlined in the letter that he came into office amid the COVID-19 pandemic and an economic crisis, arguing that “we came together as Americans, and we braved through it. We emerged stronger, more prosperous, and more secure.”
He touted the improved economy, including inflation coming, wages going up, and the job market rebounding since he took office. He also touted top accomplishments before leaving office, like that infrastructure is being built across the U.S. since he signed the bipartisan infrastructure law in 2021 and the U.S is leading the semiconductor industry since the CHIPs and Science Act he signed in 2022.
The president outlined that he “beat Big Pharma” by lowering the cost of prescription drugs through the Inflation Reduction Act, which he signed into law in 2022. And that he protected veterans exposed to toxic materials through the PACT Act he signed in 2022. He also celebrated that he signed a bipartisan gun safety bill, took steps to fight climate change and that violent crime is down.
“I ran for president because I believed that the soul of America was at stake. The very nature of who we are was at stake. And, that’s still the case,” Biden wrote.
“America is an idea stronger than any army and larger than any ocean. It’s the most powerful idea in the history of the world. That idea is that we are all created equal, endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We’ve never fully lived up to this sacred idea, but we’ve never walked away from it either. And I do not believe the American people will walk away from it now.”
He said that he and Vice President Harris asked for their staff to prepare summary of their progress over the last four years, which he included in the letter.
“I hope you’ll do your part to build on the progress we’ve made,” the president wrote.
He called it the privilege of his life to spend five decades in politics and said he gave his heart and soul to the nation.
“Nowhere else on Earth could a kid with a stutter from modest beginnings in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Claymont, Delaware, one day sit behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office as President of the United States,” he said.
He also gave a handoff note as a preview of the speech. Biden is slated to give his farewell address at the White House at 8 p.m. on Wednesday night from the Oval Office at the White House.
“History is in your hands. The power is in your hands. The idea of America lies in your hands. We just have to keep the faith and remember who we are. We are the United States of America, and there is simply nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together,” Biden said.
The president leaves office after he dropped his bid for reelection in July. He passed the torch to Harris, who lost to President-elect Trump in November. Trump will be sworn in on Monday.
