Last night, Barack Obama delivered his farewell speech to an audience in Chicago which included his wife, daughter Malia and Vice President Joe Biden.
The lengthy speech gave us ALL the feels - we're sure going to miss the Obamas. Here's 5 key things that happened:
He thanked many people, most notably his wife, children and VP
To Michelle, he said the following: "For the past 25 years you have not only been my wife and mother of my children, you have been my best friend. You took on a role you didn’t ask for. And you made it your own with grace and with grit and with style, and good humor. You made the White House a place that belongs to everybody. And a new generation sets its sights higher because it has you as a role model. You have made me proud, and you have made the country proud."
He told his daughters, Sasha and Malia, "Of all that I have done in my life, I am most proud to be your dad."
And to Joe Biden, his Vice President, he said: "You were the first decision I made as a nominee, and it was the best. Not just because you have been a great vice president, but because in the bargain I gained a brother."
Unsurprisingly, Malia and Joe (Biden) started sobbing, but Michelle kept it together.
He encouraged Americans to continue to lead an inclusive society & bring about change themselves
In perhaps a subtle condemnation of the incoming President's views, Obama told the audience that Americans themselves must create change themselves, continue to create an inclusive, non-discriminative society and continue to keep hope:
"Laws alone won’t be enough. Hearts must change. It won’t change overnight. Social attitudes oftentimes take generations to change. But if our democracy is to work the way it should in this increasingly diverse nation, then each one of us need to try to heed the advice of a great character in American fiction, Atticus Finch, who said “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”
Sasha was noticeably absent
But don't worry, she had a pretty good reason.
He only made a passing reference to Trump
Upon mentioning a Republican would next be in the White House, the crowd booed.
But ever the gracious leader, Obama responded: "No, no, no, no, no. One of the nation's great strengths, he said, "is the peaceful transfer of power from one president to the next."
He ended on a high
After an emotionally-charged, clever and authoritative speech, Obama finished with the iconic following words:
"Yes we can - yes we did."
Watch the full speech here:
Obama's term ends at noon, 20 January 2017. Sob.
