Nationalsången framfördes av BJ The Chicago Kid.
Under natten har Barack Obama under högtidliga former hållt sitt avskedstal som president efter åtta år på posten. Talet hölls på McCormick Place i hemstaden Chicago där även BJ The Chicago Kid sjöng nationalsången innan själva talet hölls. Den avgående presidenten framhöll i sitt tal vid flera tillfällen vikten av att värna demokratiska värden på flera olika plan.
“I am asking you to hold fast to that a written into our founding documents, that ideal whisper that slaves and abolitionists, that spirit song by immigrants and homesteaders and those who march for justice. That creed reaffirmed by those who planted flags from foreign battlefield to the surface of the moon, and decree of the core of every American who story is not yet written — yes, we can. Yes, we did. Yes, we can. Thank You. God bless you. And may God continue to bless the United States of America.”
Obama skickade så klart även en passning till sin efterträdare Donald Trump:
“[W]ithout some common baseline of facts, without a willingness to admit new information and concede that your opponent might be making a fair point and that science and reason matter, then we’re going to keep talking past each other. And we’ll make common ground and compromise impossible. And isn’t that part of what so often makes politics dispiriting?… It is not just dishonest, the selective sorting of the facts, it self-defeating. Because, as my mom used to tell me, reality has a way of catching up with you.”
Obama riktade även ett särskilt tack till sin fru Michelle och barnen:
“Michelle…for the past twenty-five years, you have been not only my wife and mother of my children, you have been my best friend “
Ett filmklipp publicerat av B.J. The Chicago Kid (@bjthechicagokid)
Reaktionerna på Barack Obamas avskedstal var som väntat starkt känslomässiga, framförallt från artister och profiler inom hiphopvärlden. Se några i urval nedan:
Ett foto publicerat av Meek Mill (@meekmill)
Thank you for an amazing 8 years. ?
Ett foto publicerat av G-Eazy (@g_eazy)
