Barack Obama's farewell address

During his presidency, his administration addressed the 2007-2008 global financial crisis (including a major stimulus package), oversaw the passage and implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, partially extended Bush tax cuts, took executive action on immigration reform, and took steps to combat climate change and carbon emissions.

Once Trump was inaugurated on January 20, 2017, the Democratic Party would lose control of the presidency in addition to falling short of a majority in the House and Senate.

[2] On January 2, 2017, President Obama released a post on the White House blog publicly announcing that he would deliver his farewell address in his hometown of Chicago, and stated that he was "just beginning" to write his remarks and that he was "thinking about them as a chance to say thank you for this amazing journey, to celebrate the ways you've changed this country for the better these past eight years, and to offer some thoughts on where we all go from here.

"[13] The farewell address was written by President Obama, who dictated passages to Cody Keenan, the White House Director of Speechwriting.

Former White House speechwriter Jon Favreau and former senior advisor David Axelrod also contributed to the drafting process.

[14] During the speech, Obama referred to advancements made during his presidency, such as reversing the Great Recession, creating many new jobs, shutting down Iran's nuclear weapons programme and achieving marriage equality.

Obama also addressed class divides and racial tensions following Trump’s surprise victory: “After all, if every economic issue is framed as a struggle between a hard-working white middle class and undeserving minorities, then workers of all shades will be left fighting for scraps while the wealthy withdraw further into their private enclaves”.