--- description: He spoke of the myriad accomplishments of his two-term presidency and urged citizens to uphold American democratic values. title: President Obama's Farewell Speech: Read Full Transcript image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfdd9613193efdbbd/6988b51286f68e81c66e31b7/gettyimages-631432390-2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Read the Full Transcript of President Barack Obama’s Farewell Speech by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 11, 2017 3:36 AM CUT  President Barack Obama speaks during his farewell address in Chicago, Jan. 10, 2017. President Barack Obama speaks during his farewell address in Chicago, Jan. 10, 2017.Joshua Lott—AFP/Getty Images by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 11, 2017 3:36 AM CUT Just over eight years ago, on November 4, 2008, Barack Obama took the stage in his hometown of Chicago on the occasion of a triumph: he had been elected by the American people as the 44th president of the United States, and the first African-American to take the nation’s highest office. On Tuesday night, he returned to the stage in his hometown, this time to say goodbye. In ten days, he will [leave](http://time.com/4617422/barack-obama-private-citizen-after-white-house/ "undefined") the White House; [Donald Trump](http://time.com/4563685/donald-trump-wins/ "undefined") will take his spot. But despite the cynicism from some about this prospect, Obama’s remarks on Tuesday — his final address to the nation — was, once again, [one of hope](http://time.com/4629587/barack-obama-farewell-address-preview/ "undefined"). He spoke of the myriad [accomplishments](http://time.com/4616866/barack-obama-administration-look-back-history-achievements/ "undefined") of his two-term presidency: the achievement of marriage equality, consistent job growth, the expansion of healthcare, and the normalization of relations with Cuba, to name a few. He also urged his fellow citizens to uphold American values. “Our democracy is threatened when any of us take it for granted,” he said. The full transcript of his speech is below. --- > “” --- **Read More:** [_President Barack Obama Says Goodbye in a Forceful and Tearful Farewell Speech_](http://time.com/4631042/barack-obama-farewell-speech-goodbye/ "undefined") --- > “” --- President Obama's Farewell Speech: Read Full Transcript ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4631007/president-obama-farewell-speech-transcript/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4631007/president-obama-farewell-speech-transcript/"},"headline":"Read the Full Transcript of President Barack Obama’s Farewell Speech","datePublished":"2017-01-11T03:36:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T02:39:25.940Z","description":"He spoke of the myriad accomplishments of his two-term presidency and urged citizens to uphold American democratic values","url":"https://time.com/4631007/president-obama-farewell-speech-transcript/","keywords":["Barack Obama","White House","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfdd9613193efdbbd/6988b51286f68e81c66e31b7/gettyimages-631432390-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfdd9613193efdbbd/6988b51286f68e81c66e31b7/gettyimages-631432390-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-POLITICS-OBAMA","caption":"US-POLITICS-OBAMA","creditText":"Joshua Lott—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4631007/president-obama-farewell-speech-transcript/","name":"Read the Full Transcript of President Barack Obama’s Farewell Speech"}}]}] ```