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This program was made 
possible by the corporation 
for Public Broadcasting

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and by contributions to your PBS 
station from viewers like you.

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Thank you.

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Good evening and welcome to PBS 
News live coverage of President

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Biden's address to the 
nation. I'm Geoff Bennett

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and I'm Amna Navaz with only 4 
days remaining in Mr. Biden's 
presidency. The White House

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is billing tonight's Oval Office 
speech as a farewell address, 
a chance for the president

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to highlight his achievements 
and to affirm his legacy from 
50 years of public service,

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and this will be the 2nd time 
the president has spoken to 
the nation today. That's after

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announcing a ceasefire 
deal between Israel and 
Hamas. Our White House 
correspo. find it Larboro

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Lopez is at the White House. 
Laura, what do we expect to hear 
tonight from President Biden.

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Jeff, the president is expected 
to talk about the crises that 
he has led the nation through

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that includes the COVID-19 
recovery, uh, bringing the 
economy out of the pandemic

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as well as the wars in 
Ukraine and the Middle East, 
and this is his 5th and

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final Oval Office address 
that is expected to sum up 
his five decades in politics.

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5th and final address on 
a momentous day for the 
president, having just announced

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that historic ceasefire deal. 
We're going live now to the 
Oval Office and President Biden.

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My fellow Americans. I'm 
speaking to you tonight from 
the Oval Office. Before I begin,

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let me speak to important 
news from earlier 
today. After 8 months of 
nonstop negotiation. My

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administration.

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by my administration A 
ceasefire and hostage deal 
has been reached by Israel 
and Hamas. The elements

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of which I laid out 
in great detail in May 
this year. This plan was 
developed and negotiated by

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my team. And it will be 
largely implemented by the 
incoming administration. 
That's why I told

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my team to keep the incoming 
administration fully informed. 
If that's how it should

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be.

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Working together as 
Americans. This will be my 
final address to you from 
the American people from

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the Oval Office from this desk 
as President. And I've been 
thinking a lot about who we

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are.

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And maybe more importantly 
who we should be. Long 
ago in New York Harbor,

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an ironworker installed beam 
after beam, day after day. He 
was joined by steel workers,

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stonemasons, engineers. 
They built not just a single 
structure. But a beacon of

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freedom. The very idea of 
America was so big. We felt 
the entire world needed to

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see.

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The Statue of Liberty. 
A gift from France after 
our civil war. Like the

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very idea of America was built 
not by one person, but by many

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people.

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From every

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background

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And from around the

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world.

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Like America The Statue 
of Liberty is not standing

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still.

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

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march.

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And she literally moves. She 
was built to sway back and 
forth to withstand the fury of

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stormy weather. To stand 
the test of time because 
storms are always coming. 
She sways a few inches,

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but she never falls into the 
current below. An engineering 
marvel. The Statue of Liberty

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is also an enduring symbol of 
the soul of our nation. A soul 
shaped by forces that bring us

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together and by forces 
that pull us apart. And 
yet through good times and 
tough times. We've stood it

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all.

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A nation of pioneers and 
explorers. Of dreamers 
and doers. Of ancestors

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native to this land. 
Of ancestors who came 
by force. The nation of 
immigrants came to build

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a better life. nation Holding 
the torch of the most powerful 
idea ever in the history of the

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world.

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That all of us All of us are 
created equal. All of us deserve 
to be treated with dignity.

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Justice and fairness. That 
democracy Must defend And be 
defined And be in imposed.

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Moved

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In every way possible. 
Our rights, our freedoms,

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our dreams. We know the idea of 
America. Our institution, our 
people, our values that uphold

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it

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are constantly being tested. 
Ongoing debates about 
power and the exercise of

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power.

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But whether we lead by the 
example of our power. Or 
the power of our example.

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Whether we show the courage 
to stand up to the abuse of

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power.

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Or we yield to it. After 
50 years at the center of 
all of this. I know That 
believing in the idea of

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America means respecting 
the institution is govern 
a free society. The 
presidency The Congress The

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courts

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A free and independent 
press. Institutions that are

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rooted.

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Not just not reflect 
the timeless words,

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but they they they echo. The 
words of the Declaration of 
Independence. We hold these

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truths to be self-evident. 
Rooted in the timeless words 
of the Constitution. We the

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people.

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Our system of separation 
of powers. Checks and 
balances. It may not be

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perfect.

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But it's maintained our 
democracy for nearly 
250 years. Longer than 
any other nation in

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history.

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That's ever tried such a bold 
experiment. In the past 4 
years. Our democracy is held

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strong. And every day 
I've kept my commitment 
to be president for all

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Americans. You're one of 
the toughest periods in 
our nation's history. I've

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had a great partner and Vice 
President Kamala Harris. 
It's been the honor of my

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life.

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To see the resilience. 
Of a sense of workers 
getting us through once

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in a century pandemic. 
The heroism Of service 
members and first 
responders keeping us safe.

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The determination of advocates 
standing up. for our rights 
and our freedoms. Instead of

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losing their jobs. To 
an economic crisis that 
we inherited millions 
of Americans. Now I have

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the dignity of work. 
Millions of entrepreneurs 
and companies. Creating new 
businesses and industries.

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Hiring American workers, using 
American products. Together 
We've launched a new era

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of American possibilities. One 
of the greatest modernization 
of infrastructure in our entire

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history.

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A new roads, bridges, clean 
water. Affordable high-speed 
internet. For every American We

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invented the semiconductor. 
Smaller than the tip of 
my little finger. And 
now it's bringing those

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chip factories and those 
jobs back to America where 
they belong. Creating 
thousands of jobs.

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Finally Give me Medicare, 
the power to negotiate 
low prescription drug 
prices from millions

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of seniors. And finally Doing 
something to protect our 
children and our families. By

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passing the most significant 
gun safety law in 30 years. 
And bringing violent crime to a

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50-year low. Meeting our 
sacred obligation to over 1 
million veterans so far. We're

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exposed to toxic materials. 
and to their families 
Providing medical care 
and education benefits and

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more.

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For their families. You

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know

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It will take time To 
feel the full impact of 
all we've done together.

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But the seeds are planted. 
And they'll grow and 
they'll bloom for decades to

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come.

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At home we've created 
nearly 17 million new jobs, 
more than any other single 
administration a single

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term.

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Speaker 12 [8:08:17 PM] More 
people have health care than

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ever before. And overseas 
we strengthen NATO. 
Ukraine is still free. 
And we've pulled ahead

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of our competition with China. 
So much more I'm so proud of 
how much we've accomplished

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together. For the American 
people. And I wish the 
incoming administration's 
success. Because I want

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America to succeed. That's 
why I held my duty. To 
ensure a peaceful and 
orderly transition of

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power. To ensure we lead by the 
power of our example. I have 
no doubt that America's in a

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position to continue to 
succeed. That's why my farewell 
address tonight. I want

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to warn the country of 
some things that give 
me great concern. This 
is a dangerous concert

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and that's a dangerous 
concentration of power. In 
the hands of a very few ultra

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wealthy people. The dangerous 
consequences. If they're abuse 
of power is left unchecked.

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Today

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An oligarchy is taking 
shape in America of 
extreme wealth, power,

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and influence that really 
threatens our entire 
democracy. Our basic 
rights and freedoms. And a

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fair shot for everyone 
to get ahead. We see the 
consequences all across

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America.

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And we've seen it

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before.

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More than a century ago. But 
the American people stood up.

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To the robber barons 
back then. And busted the

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trust.

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They didn't punish the 
wealthy. This made the wealthy 
pay to play by the rules,

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everybody else had to do. 
Workers want rights to 
earn their fair share.

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You know, they were dealt 
into the deal. And helped put 
us on a path to building the

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largest middle class, most 
prosperous century, any 
nation in the world has 
ever seen. We've got to do

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that again. The last 4 
years, that's exactly what 
we've done. People should 
be able to make as much

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as they can. But pay play by 
the same rules, pay their fair 
share of taxes. So much is at

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stake.

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Right now The existential 
threat of climate change. 
Has never been clear.

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Just look

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across the country. 
From California to North 
Carolina. That's why I signed

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the most significant 
climate and clean energy 
law ever. Ever in the

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history of the world and 
the rest of the world 
is trying to model it

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now.

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It's working Creating jobs and 
industries of the future. Now 
we prove that we don't have

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to choose between protecting 
the environment and growing 
the economy. We're doing both.

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The powerful forces. Want 
to wheel their unchecked 
influence to eliminate the steps

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we've taken to tackle the 
crime and crisis to serve their 
own interest. For power and

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profit. We must not be bullied 
the sacrifice in the future. 
The future of our children

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and our grandchildren. Must 
keep pushing forward. And 
push faster There's no time to

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waste.

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It's also clear that 
American leadership and

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technology.

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is unparalleled an 
unparalleled source of 
innovation. That can transform

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lives.

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We see the same dangers. 
The concentration of 
technology, power and

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wealth.

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You know, it's farewell 
addressed President 
Eisenhower. Spoke of

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the dangers of the 
military industrial

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complex.

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He warned to stand 
about and I quote,

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A potential For the disastrous 
rise. of misplaced power, 
end of quote. 6 days 6

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decades later. I'm equally 
concerned about the potential 
rise. Of a tech industrial

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complex.

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It could pose real dangers for 
our country as well. Americans 
are being buried. Under an

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avalanche of misinformation 
and disinformation. 
Enable in the abuse of 
power. The free press is

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crumbling. Others are 
disappearing. Social 
media is giving up on 
fact checking. Truth

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is smothered by lies. To for 
power and for profit. We must 
hold the social platforms

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accountable. Protect our 
children. Our families 
In a very democracy 
from the abuse of power.

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Meanwhile Artificial 
intelligence. Is the most 
consequential technology 
of our time. Perhaps

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of all time. Nothing offers 
more profound possibilities 
and risks for our economy.

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And our security Our 
society A very for humanity. 
Artificial intelligence

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even has the potential 
to help us answer my call 
and cancer as we know

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it.

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But unless safeguards are in

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place.

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AI could spawn new 
threats to our rights, 
our way of life to our

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privacy.

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How we work and how we protect 
our nation. We must make sure 
AI is safe and trustworthy. And

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good for all humankind. In the 
age of AI. It's more important 
than ever. That the people must

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govern. And as the land 
of liberty, America Not 
China Must lead the world 
in the development of

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AI. You know, in the 
years ahead. Go to be 
It could be up to the 
president. The presidency,

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the Congress, the courts, the 
free press and the American

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people.

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Confront these powerful

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forces.

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We must reform the tax code. 
Not by giving the biggest 
tax cuts to billionaires,

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but by making them begin to 
pay their fair share. We need 
to get dark money. That's that

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hidden funding behind too 
many campaigns contributions. 
We need to get it out of

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our politics. When you 
do an act in 18-year time 
limit. Term limit Time 
and turn for the strongest

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ethics and the strongest ethics 
reforms for a Supreme Court. 
We need to ban members of

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Congress

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from from trading stock 
while they're in the

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Congress.

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We need to amend the 
constitution to make clear 
that no president, no 
president is immune from

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crimes that he or she commits 
while in office. presence power 
is not limit. It's not absolute.

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And it shouldn't be. And in 
a democracy, there's another 
danger. the concentration of

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power and wealth. It erodes 
the sense of unity and 
common purpose. It causes 
distrust and division.

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Participating in our 
democracy. Becomes exhausting 
and even disillusioning.

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People don't feel like 
they have a fair shot. We 
have to stay engaged in the

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process.

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I know it's frustrating. A 
fair shot is what makes America 
America. Everyone's entitled

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to a fair shot, not a guarantee, 
but just a fair shot and 
even Plainfield. Going as

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far as your hard work and 
talent can take you. We can 
never lose that essential 
truth remain who we

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are.

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I've always

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believed

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And I've told other world 
leaders America can be 
defined by one word. 
Possibilities. Only in

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America. Do we believe 
anything is possible. Like 
a kid with a stutter from 
a modest beginnings in

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Scranton, Pennsylvania. 
Claymont Delaware Sitting behind 
the this desk in the Oval

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Office. As President of the 
United States. That's the magic 
of America. It's all around

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us.

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Upstairs in the residence 
of the White House. I've

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walked by a painting of 
the Statue of Liberty. 
I don't know how many

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times.

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In the painting There are 
several workers climbing on the 
outstretched arm. The statute

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that holds the torch. Reminds 
me every day I pass it. Of the 
story and soul of our nation.

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And the power of the American 
prayer people. There's a story 
of a veteran. This is a veteran,

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son of an immigrant. Whose 
job was to climb that 
torch and polish the amber

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paints. So rays of light could 
reach out as far as possible. 
He was known as the keeper

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of the flame. He once said that 
the statue of Liberty. speaks 
a silent universal language.

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One of hope That anyone 
who sees and speaks 
freedom can understand. Yes

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We sway back and forth 
to withstand the fury of 
the storm. To stand the 
test of time. A constant

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struggle.

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Constant struggle A short 
distance between peril 
and possibility. What I 
believe Is the America

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of our dreams is always closer 
than we think. It's up to us to 
make our dreams come true. Let

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me close. By stating 
my gratitude to so many 
people. To the members 
of my administration.

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As well as public service 
and first responders across 
the country and around the

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world.

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Thank you for stepping up 
to serve. To our service

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members

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And their families. It's 
been the highest honor of my 
life to lead you as commander

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in chief. And of course 
to Kamala. And our 
incredible partner. Historic

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vice president. She and 
Doug have become like 
family to me. Family's

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everything.

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My deepest appreciation. 
Amazing first lady was 
with me in the ovals

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today.

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For our entire family. You're 
the love of my life and the 
life's of my love. My eternal

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thanks to you, the American 
people. After 50 years of 
public service, I give you my

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word.

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I still believe in the 
idea. For which this 
nation stands. nation 
where the strengths of our

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institutions.

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The character of our people 
matter. It must endure. 
Now it's your turn to stand

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guard.

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May you all be the keeper 
of the flame. And you

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keep the faith. I love America. 
You love it too. God bless you

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all.

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May God protect our troops. 
Thank you for this great

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honor.

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President Biden speaking 
to the American public 
for the final time before 
he leaves office next

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week. A farewell to a nation 
he has served for half a 
century. We're joined now by our

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correspondents who have been 
watching the president's 
remarks. Lisa Desjardin covers

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Congress and our White House 
correspondent Laura Baron Lopez 
is at the White House. So Laura,

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one of the things we heard 
President Biden say, he warned 
of what he called a dangerous

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concentration of power in the 
hands of a few wealthy people. 
He warned of an oligarchy taking

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shape in this country. What 
other themes and, and, and 
remarks stood out to you.

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That's right, Jeff. I 
mean, ultimately the 
president's speech could 
potentially be summed up

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by one of the lines he 
said at the very beginning 
where he said that he was 
reflecting on who we are

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as a nation and who we should 
be and. In that vein, a lot of 
this speech he was dedicated to

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those warnings that you 
just referenced, yes, 
he talked about the 
accomplishments that he made,

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whether it was the 
infrastructure bill, whether 
it was passing semiconductors 
and and create more job

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creation, as well as, 
uh, allowing Medicare to 
negotiate drug prices, 
and he said that it may

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take time for the American 
public to fully feel 
the effect of the things 
that he accomplished in

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his one term, but the majority 
of the Speech was about bigger 
themes about what he still

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sees as a threat to democracy 
and questions of separation of 
power of checks and balance, uh,

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the fact that he said that 
no president is immune 
from crimes committed 
well in office and that a

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president's power is 
not absolute, very clear 
warnings that he's making 
about what he still

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sees as a threat posed 
by the incoming president 
Donald Trump and what 
Donald Trump has forecasted

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about what He would do to exert 
his control and try to expand 
much of the presidential powers.

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And Lisa we saw in their 
messages from the president 
directed certainly

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straight to the American people 
saying you are now the keepers

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of this flame to lawmakers 
as well. There seem to 
be messages directed

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at the incoming 
administration as well. 
All of this is unfolding 
as you've been covering the

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confirmation hearings for many 
of these incoming administration 
members, what did you take away

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from some of his warnings 
about, as Laura was 
mentioning, respecting 
democratic institutions.

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Well, this is a man who's 
had a truly remarkable in 
our history of political 
career. I covered just

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a small part of that career, 
20 years, so it shows how 
long he's been in office. 
He ran for office 13

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different times, as as 
a politician, so he has 
taken a long view here 
and he knows that this is

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yet another pivot point. What 
I took from these remarks is at 
times we've seen, uh, President

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Biden, including in 
his convention speeches 
stressed something that 
I didn't hear tonight,

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the battle for the soul 
of America. Instead, 
this was a more sort of 
tangible speech about

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what he sees are the direct 
and specific problems 
right now. Now he could 
have talked a lot more at

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length about his own 
accomplishments. For example, 
we just got an incredible 
jobs report, you know,

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his jobs record is something 
I think economists will 
be talking about for 
years. That's not where

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his mind is. His mind as you 
all are reporting, is instead on 
the oligarch taking power which

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he said threatening freedoms and 
the phrase he repeated again and 
again, a fair shot for people.

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It was also interesting 
to me, someone who was 
privileged enough to cover 
both his campaign and

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now President-elect Trump's 
campaign. We talk a lot about 
President Trump in terms of the

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1980s being formational for him, 
but I think he goes back to an 
even older time, maybe the 1880s

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really with all this imperialism 
and populism, and here we heard 
the phrase robber barons that uh

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President Biden is talking 
about. He's saying that 
there are dangers that 
have been in this country

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before from oligarchs 
that we are now returning 
to, and he wants people 
to pay attention. And,

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and Larro Lopez, a majority of 
Americans poll after poll has 
shown this. Give President Biden

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low favorability ratings. 
They disapprove of of his how 
he's conducted himself in in

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office. How does the White 
House reconcile that disconnect, 
that gap between what the

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White House views as their 
achievements and and the 
perception among the majority of

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Americans.

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Oh, I

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think

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Jeff, that we heard some of the 
president's response to that 
tonight when he specifically

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talked about social media 
giving up on fact checking and 
he talked about the level of

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disinformation and the 
tech industrial across the 
tech industrial complex 
which is what he called

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it, that is something 
that this White House, 
the Democrats, that aides 
inside the White House have

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vented a lot about 
throughout the presidency, 
which is essentially 
that they feel as though

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despite the fact that 
President Biden did a lot 
to bring the country back 
from The COVID-19 pandemic,

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despite statistics and 
data showing that the 
economy is rebounding that 
they feel as though he

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hasn't gotten credit for 
that, or the job creation 
as a result of the 
infrastructure bill and new

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climate change actions that 
he's implemented and and 
so they ultimately have 
blamed some of that on

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this new information 
environment that the 
country is in on lies spread 
across easily across social

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media and the responsibility 
that this president believes the 
people in charge of those social

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media companies have in trying 
to make sure that facts are what 
reached the public and not lies

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and disinformation also a 
lot of White House aides 
have often said what the 
president said tonight,

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which is that again they think 
that ultimately Americans will 
look back on President Biden's

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time in office very differently 
than they view it right 
now in the current moment,

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and, uh, potentially very 
similar to the way Americans 
viewed some of President Obama's

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00:24:34,800 --> 00:24:39,633
action. such as the 
Affordable Care Act, they 
believe that ultimately 
the public will credit

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him for some of the actions 
that he took and that 
it will take time as the 
president said tonight,

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and that's how they reconcile 
it, Jeff, but ultimately 
right now leaving office,

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you're right, his uh polling 
numbers do not look very 
good, and we have a poll,

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00:24:56,033 --> 00:24:59,600
a recent poll out today from 
uh PBS News Marist and NPR 
and in it it shows that the

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president's disapproval rating 
is at 50. in his approval 
rating is at 42% currently, Jeff

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Lisa, meanwhile, we know he's 
been leading the nation for 4 
years. He's also been leading

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his party. What are your 
Democratic sources tell 
you about this moment?

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I have been texting with a lot 
of Democrats elected lawmakers 
at the Capitol. I can't

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find one yet who was watching 
this speech, and in fact, as we 
talk now as he talks about the

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00:25:24,666 --> 00:25:28,300
future of the country, what 
are Democrats doing? A number 
of them are at Democratic

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00:25:28,300 --> 00:25:33,300
National Committee headquarters 
for a forum for the candidates 
who want to lead the party,

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so Biden is talking about 
his legacy, but the party 
is moving on to someone

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else.

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A lot of questions with 
the party's future ahead 
and as the president

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mentioned tonight concerns 
that he has for the country's 
future as well. Meanwhile,

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that concludes our special live 
coverage of President Biden's 
address. Our thanks to Lisa

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and Laura for their insights 
tonight. Thanks to you for 
joining us. I'm Amna Navaz and

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I'm Jeff Bennett. We'll 
have much more on the news 
hour tomorrow night. Right

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now we return you to 
your regularly scheduled 
PBS programs. Our thanks 
to you for joining

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us.

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