English subtitles for clip: File:President Biden Addresses the Nation, July 24, 2024 (Video).webm

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My fellow Americans,

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I'm speaking tonight from
behind the Resolute desk

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in the Oval Office.

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In this sacred space,
I'm surrounded by portraits

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of extraordinary
American presidents.

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Thomas Jefferson wrote
the immortal words

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that guide this nation.

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George Washington, who showed
us presidents are not kings.

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Abraham Lincoln, who implored
us to reject malice.

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Franklin Roosevelt, who
inspired us to reject fear.

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I revere this office,
but I love my country more.

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It's been the honor of my life
to serve as your president,

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but in the defense of
democracy, which is at stake,

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I think is more important
than any title.

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I draw strength and I find joy

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in working for the
American people,

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but this sacred task
of perfecting our union,

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it's not about me.

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It's about you, your
families, your futures.

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It's about we the people,
and we can never forget that.

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And I never have.

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I've made it clear
that I believe

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America's at an
inflection point,

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one of those rare
moments in history,

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when the decisions we make now

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will determine our
fate of our nation

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and the world for
decades to come.

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America's going
to have to choose

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between moving
forward or backward,

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between hope and hate,
between unity and division.

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We have to decide, do we
still believe in honesty,

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decency, respect, freedom,
justice, and democracy?

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In this moment, we can see those
we disagree with not as enemies,

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but as fellow Americans.
Can we do that?

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Does character and public
life still matter?

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I believe and know the
answer to these questions

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because I know you,
the American people,

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and I know this.

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We are a great nation because
we are a good people.

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When you elected
me to this office,

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I promised to always level
with you, to tell you the truth.

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And the truth, the sacred
cause of this country

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is larger than any one of us,

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and those of us who cherish
that cause, cherish it so much.

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A cause of American democracy
itself must unite to protect it.

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In recent weeks, it's
become clear to me

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that I need to unite my party
in this critical endeavor.

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I believe my record
as president,

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my leadership in the world,

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my vision for America's future,
all married at a second term,

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but nothing, nothing can come in
the way of saving our democracy.

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That includes personal ambition.

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So, I've decided the
best way forward

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is to pass the torch
to a new generation.

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That's the best way
to unite our nation.

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I know there is a
time and a place

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for long years of
experience in public life.

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There's also a time and a place
for new voices, fresh voices,

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yes, younger voices, and
that time and place is now.

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In the next six months,

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I'll be focused on doing
my job as president.

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That means I'll
continue to lower costs

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for hardworking families,
grow our economy.

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I'll keep defending
our personal freedoms

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and our civil rights
from the right

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to vote to the
right to choose.

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I'll keep calling out
hate and extremism,

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make it clear
there is no place,

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no place in America
for political violence

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or any violence ever. Period.

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I'm going to keep speaking out

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to protect our kids
from gun violence.

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Our plan from climate crisis
is the existential threat,

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and I'll keep fighting
for my cancer moonshot

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so we can end cancer as we
know it because we can do it.

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I'm going to call for
Supreme Court reform

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because this is critical
to our democracy,

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Supreme Court reform.
I'll keep working to ensure

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American remains
strong and secure

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and the leader of
the free world.

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I'm the first president
in this century

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to report to the American
people that the United States

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is not at war anywhere
in the world.

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We'll keep rallying the
coalition of proud nations

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to stop Putin from
taking over Ukraine

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and doing more damage.

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We'll keep NATO stronger,
and I'll make it more powerful

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and more united than any time
in all of our history.

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I'll keep doing the same
for allies in the Pacific.

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And when I came to office,
and conventional wisdom

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was that China would inevitably
pass the United States,

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that's not the case anymore.

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And I'm going to keep working
to end the war on Gaza,

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bring home all the hostages
and bring peace and security

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to the Middle East
and end this war.

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We're also working around the
clock to bring home Americans

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being unjustly detained
all around the world.

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We've come so far
since my inauguration.

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On that day, I told you
as I stood in that winter,

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we were stood in
a winter of peril

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and winter of possibilities,
parallel possibilities.

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We were in the grip of the worst
pandemic in the century,

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the worst economic crisis
since the Great Depression,

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the worst attack on our
democracy since the Civil War,

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but we came together as
Americans and we got through it.

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We emerged stronger,
more prosperous and more secure.

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Today, we have the strongest
economy in the world

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creating nearly 16 million
new jobs. A record.

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Wages are up, inflation
continues to come down.

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The racial wealth gap is the
lowest it's been in 20 years.

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We're literally rebuilding
our entire nation,

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urban, suburban, rural
and tribal communities.

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Manufacturers come
back to America.

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We're leading the
world again in chips

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and science and innovation.

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We finally beat big pharma
after all these years,

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to lower the cost of
prescription drugs for seniors.

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And I'm going to keep
fighting to make sure

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we lower the cost for
everyone, not just seniors.

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More people have healthcare
today in America

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than ever before,

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and I signed one of
the most significant laws

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helping millions of veterans
and their families

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who were exposed to
toxic materials.

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Most significant
climate law ever,

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ever in the history
of the world.

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The first major gun
safety law in 30 years.

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Today, violent crime rate
is at a 50-year low.

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We're also securing our border.
Border crossings are lower today

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than when the previous
administration left office.

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I've kept my commitment to
appoint the first Black woman

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to the Supreme Court of the
United States of America.

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I also kept my commitment
to have an administration

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that looks like America and be
a president for all Americans.

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That's what I've done.

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I ran for president
four years ago

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because I believed and still do

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that the soul of America
was at stake.

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The very nature of who
we are was at stake,

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and that's still the case.

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America's an idea, an idea
stronger than any army,

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bigger than any ocean,

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more powerful than
any dictator tyrant.

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It's the most powerful idea
in the history of the world.

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That idea is that we hold these
truths to be self-evident.

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We're all created equal,
and doubted by our creator

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are certain inalienable rights,

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life, liberty,
pursuit of happiness.

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We've never fully lived up
to it, to this sacred idea,

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but we've never walked away
from it either,

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and I do not believe

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the American people
will walk away from it now.

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In just a few months,

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the American people will choose
the course of America's future.

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I made my choice. I've
made my views known.

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I would like to thank our great
Vice President, Kamala Harris.

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She's experienced, she's
tough, she's capable.

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She's been an incredible
partner to me

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and a leader for our country.

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Now the choice is up to
you, the American people.

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When you make that choice,

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remember the words
of Benjamin Franklin

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that's hanging on my wall
here in the Oval Office,

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alongside the busts of Dr. King
and Rosa Parks and Cesar Chavez.

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When Ben Franklin was asked

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as he emerged from the
convention going on,

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whether the founders have
given America a [inaudible]

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republic, Franklin's
response was,

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"A republic, if
you can keep it."

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A republic, if you can keep it.

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Whether we keep our republic
is now in your hands."

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My fellow Americans, it's been
the privilege of my life

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to serve this nation
for over 50 years.

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Nowhere else on earth
could a kid with a stutter,

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from modest beginnings
in Scranton,

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Pennsylvania and Claymont,

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Delaware one day sit behind
the Resolute desk

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in the Oval Office as President
of the United States.

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But here I am. That's what's
so special about America.

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We're a nation of promise
and possibilities, of dreamers

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and doers, of ordinary Americans
doing extraordinary things.

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I've given my heart and
my soul to our nation,

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like so many others.

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I've been blessed
a million times

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in return with the love

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and support of the
American people.

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I hope you have some idea
how grateful I am to all of you.

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The great thing about
America is here.

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Kings and dictators do
not rule. The people do.

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History is in your hands.
The power is in your hands.

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The idea of America
lies in your hands.

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We just have to keep faith.

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Keep the faith and
remember who we are.

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We're the United
States of America,

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and there is simply nothing,

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nothing beyond our capacity
when we do it together.

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So, let's act together,
preserve our democracy.

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God bless you all and may God
protect our troops. Thank you.