President Joe Biden declared in his final address to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday that the U.S. must not retreat from the world, as Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon edged toward all-out war and Israel’s bloody operation against Hamas in Gaza neared the one-year mark.
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00:00My fellow leaders, this is the fourth time I've had the great honor of speaking to this
00:13assembly as President of the United States.
00:17It will be my last.
00:20I've seen a remarkable sweep of history.
00:23I know many look at the world today and see difficulties and react with despair, but I
00:30do not.
00:31I won't.
00:33As leaders, we don't have the luxury.
00:36I recognize the challenges from Ukraine to Gaza to Sudan and beyond, war, hunger, terrorism,
00:46record displacement of people, a climate crisis, democracy at risk, strangeness in our societies,
00:55the promise of artificial intelligence and its significant risk.
00:59The list goes on.
01:01But maybe because of all I've seen and all we have done together over the decades, I have hope.
01:08I know there is a way forward.
01:13There will always be forces that pull our countries apart.
01:16And the world apart.
01:18Aggression, extremism, chaos, and cynicism.
01:22A desire to retreat from the world and go it alone.
01:27Our task, our test, is to make sure that the forces holding us together are stronger
01:34than those that are pulling us apart.
01:37That the principles of partnership that we came here each year to uphold can withstand
01:43the challenges that the center holds.
01:47Once again, each of us in this body has made a commitment to the principles of the U.N.
01:51Charter to stand up against aggression.
01:55When Russia invaded Ukraine, we could have stood by and merely protested.
02:00But Vice President Harris and I understood that that was an assault on everything this
02:04institution was supposed to stand for.
02:08And so, my direction, America stepped into the breach, providing massive security and
02:13economic and humanitarian assistance.
02:16Our NATO allies and partners and 50-plus nations stood up as well.
02:21But most importantly, the Ukrainian people stood up.
02:26I ask the people of this chamber to stand up for them.
02:30The good news is, Putin's war has failed at his core aim.
02:37He set out to destroy Ukraine, but Ukraine is still free.
02:42He set out to weaken NATO, but NATO is bigger, stronger, more united than ever before with
02:48two new members, Finland and Sweden.
02:52But we cannot let up.
02:54The world now has another choice to make.
02:56Will we sustain our support to help Ukraine win this war and preserve its freedom, or
03:03walk away and let aggression be renewed and a nation be destroyed?
03:10I know my answer.
03:12We cannot grow weary.
03:14We cannot look away.
03:17And we will not let up on our support for Ukraine, not until Ukraine wins a just and
03:21durable peace in the U.N. Charter.
03:24Let me close with this.
03:25Even as we navigate so much change, one thing must not change.
03:31We must never forget who we're here to represent.
03:35We, the people.
03:37These are the first words of our Constitution, the very idea of America, and they inspired
03:43the opening words of the U.N. Charter.
03:46I made the preservation of democracy the central cause of my presidency.
03:51This summer, I faced a decision whether to seek a second term as president.
03:56It was a difficult decision.
03:59Being president has been the honor of my life.
04:02There's so much more I want to get done.
04:05As much as I love the job, I love my country more.
04:10I decided after 50 years of public service, it's time for a new generation of leadership
04:15to take my nation forward.
04:17My fellow leaders, let us never forget, some things are more important than staying in
04:22power.
04:25It's your people.
04:26It's your people that matter the most.
04:30Never forget, we are here to serve the people, not the other way around.
04:36Because the future will be won by those who unleash the full potential of our people.
04:40It's your people that matter the most.
04:46Never forget, we are here to serve the people, not the other way around, because the future
04:53will be won by those who unleash the full potential of their people, to breathe free,
04:58to think freely, to innovate, to educate, to live and love openly without fear.
05:04That's the soul of democracy.
05:06It does not belong to any one country.
05:09I've seen it all around the world, and the brave men and women who ended apartheid, brought
05:15down the Berlin Wall, fight today for freedom and justice and dignity.
05:20It's remarkable the power of We the People that makes me more optimistic about the future
05:27than I've ever been.
05:28Since I was first elected to the United States Senate in 1972, every age faces its challenges.
05:35I saw it as a young man.
05:38I see it today, but we are stronger than we think.
05:43We're stronger together than alone.
05:47What the people call impossible is just an illusion.
05:52Nelson Mandela taught us, and I quote, it always seems impossible until it's done.
05:58It always seems impossible until it's done.
06:02My fellow leaders, there is nothing that's beyond our capacity if we work together.
06:09Let's work together.
06:11God bless you all, and may God protect all those who seek peace.