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Obama formally stepped down from his former position as President of the United States on January 10th. He gave a farewell address to commemorate his time in office. In his speech, Obama emphasized democracy, value of faith, and hard work. He described the struggles of the many Americans who made the country what it is today. He made special mention of immigrants, refugees, and the LGBT community. Obama spoke about Stonewall and the struggles of fleeing persecution from one’s home country. As Trump is known to condemn these groups, they had a powerful effect on members of the community who feel endangered and powerless in the face of an administration that seems to revile their existence.
In particular, his statements about the economy were clearly directed towards the masses of dissatisfied, white working-class people making up the majority of Trump’s voters. His statements deliberately reversed Trump’s rhetoric of blaming immigrants and instead blamed the excessively wealthy corporations for exploiting their workforce. “If every economic issue is framed as a struggle between a hard working white middle class and an undeserving minority, then workers of all shades are going to be left fighting for scraps while the wealthy withdraw further into their private enclaves. If we're unwilling to invest in the children of immigrants, just because they don't look like us, we will diminish the prospects of our own children — because those brown kids will represent a larger and larger share of America's workforce.” In doing so, Obama hopes to use the final moments of his presidency to discourage the hateful rhetoric of the upcoming administration.
However, while much of his speech seemed directed towards Trump and his supporters, he only mentioned him once by name, to wish for a peaceful transition of power between the two. He also remained markedly neutral about the possible abolition of Obamacare, saying that as long as it was replaced with a system equally or more effective, he would support it.
In addition to addressing Republicans, he also attempted to assuage Democratic supporters angry with the results of the election and Trump’s presidency. He reminds them of the achievements they’ve made thus far, and encourages them to not lose hope, saying “change only happens when ordinary people get involved and they get engaged, and they come together to demand it.”
Obama repeated the phrase “We, the People” three to four times throughout his address. Well known as the first three words of the US Constitution, they emphasize unity and personal freedom. More than anything, Obama urged the importance of a unified country, encouraging the divided public to work together towards positive change: “democracy [requires] a basic sense of solidarity — the idea that for all our outward differences, we're all in this together; that we rise or fall as one.” Divisive though the current political climate may be, our now former president reminds us that the most important thing is to not lose sight of the end goal of making a better America.