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our live coverage of president biden's address to the nation. >> with only four days remaining in his presidency, this is a farewell address, a chance for the president to highlight his achievements and affirm his legacy of 50 years of service. >> this will be the second time the president has spoken to the nation today, that is after announcing a cease-fire deal between israel and hamas. what do we expect to hear tonight from the president? >> he is expected to talk about the crises that he has led the nation through. that includes covid, bringing the economy out of the pandemic, as well as wars in the ukraine and the middle east. it is expected to sum up his five decades in politics. >>'s fifth and final address on

a momentous day for the president, having just announced that cease-fire deal. pres. biden: my fellow americans, i am speaking to you tonight from the oval office. after eight months of nonstop negotiations, my administration has reached a cease-fire at a hostage deal. this plan was developed and negotiated by my team and will be largely of limited by the incoming administration. that is why told my team to keep the incoming administration fully informed. that is how it should be, working together as americans. this will be my final address to you from the oval office. i have been thinking a lot about

who we are and who we should be. long ago, in new york harbor, and ironworkers against all beam after being become a day after day. he was joined by steelworkers, stonemasons, engineers. they built not just a single structure but a become -- beacon of freedom. the idea of an america so big, the whole world needed to see it. the statue of liberty. a gift from france after our civil war. the statue of liberty is not standing still. she is on the march. she literally moves.

she is built to sway back and forth. to stand the test of time. storms are always coming. an engineering marvel. the statue of liberty is also an enduring symbol of the soul of our nation. a soul forced by -- shaped by forces. we have withstood it all. a nation of pioneers and explorers. dreamers and doers. ancestors native to this land. ancestors who came by force. a nation of immigrants that came to build a better life. holding the torch of the most powerful idea ever. that all of us are created equal. that all of us deserve to be treated with dignity, justice, fairness.

that democracy must be moved in every way possible. ongoing debates about power and the example of our power. after 50 years of the center of all of this, i know that believing in the idea of america means respecting the institutions. a free and independent press.

institutions that echo the declaration of independence. we hold these truths to be self-evident. checks and balances. it may not be perfect, but it is maintained our democracy for hundreds of years. our democracy has held strong. i have kept my commitment to be president for all americans. it has been the honor of my life to see the resilience of getting us through a once in a century

pandemic. the hearer was him. -- heroism. millions of entrepreneurs and companies creating new businesses and industries. hiring american workers. using american products. together we have launched a new era of american possibilities. the greatest modernization of infrastructure in our history. new roads, bridges, clean water. high-speed internet for every american. we invented the semiconductor. now it is bringing chips factories and jobs back to america. creating thousands of jobs.

finally doing something to protect our children and our families. bringing violent crime to a 50 year low. meeting our sacred obligation to veterans. it will take time to feel the full impact of everything we have done tomorrow. at home we have created nearly 17 million new jobs. more people have health care than ever before. overseas we strengthened nato.

ukraine is still free. i am so proud of how we have accomplished this. i wish the incoming administration success because i want america to succeed. that is why i have held my duty to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition of power, to ensure that we lead by the power of our example. i have no doubt that america is in a position to continue to succeed. that is why tonight i want to warn the country of some things that give me great concern. the dangerous consequences if abuse of power is left unchecked. today, an oligarchy is taking shape in america.

it threatens our entire democracy. our basic rights and freedoms. and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead. we see the consequences all across america. we have seen this before. people stood up to the robber barons back then. they did not punish the wealthy. they made the wealthy play by the rules everybody else had to. they had to earn their fair share. they helped put us on a path to help building the largest middle-class. we have to do that again. that is exactly what we have done. play by the same rules.

pay your fair share of taxes. so much is at stake. the existential threat of climate change is never been clearer. look across the country, from california to north carolina. that is why i signed the most significant clean energy law ever. it is working. creating jobs and industries of the future. we have proven we don't have to choose between protecting the environment and growing the economy. we are doing both. powerful forces want to wield their unchecked influence. to serve their own interests for power and profit. we must not be bullied into sacrificing the future. we must keep pushing forward.

there is no time to waste. it is also clear that american leadership in technology is unparalleled. who can transform our lives. we have seen the same dangers. in his farewell address, president eisenhower spoke of the dangers of the military-industrial complex. he warned us then about the potential for the disastrous rise in misplaced power. six decades later, i am equally concerned about the potential rise of a tech industrial complex that can pose real dangers for our country. americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation. the free press is crumbling.

social media is giving up on fact checking. the truth is smothered by lies told for power and profit. we must hold the social platforms accountable. to protect our families and our democracy. artificial intelligence is the most consequential technology of our kind. for our society. artificial intelligence even has the potential to help ask -- with my call to into cancer as we know it. ai can spawn new threats to our privacy. we must make sure that ai is

safe and good for all humankind. it is more important than ever. as the land of liberty, america, not china, mostly the world in the development of ai. in the years ahead it will be up to the president and the congress and the courts in the free press and the american people to confront these valuable forces. we need to get dark money out of our politics. we need to enact an 18 year term limit for the strongest ethics reforms. for our supreme court.

we need to band members of congress from trading such -- stock while they are in congress. we need to make sure that no president is immune from crimes they commit during office. the power is not limited. it is not absolute. it should not be. in a democracy, this erodes the sensitive unity and common purpose. this becomes exhausting and disillusioning. people don't feel like they have a fair shot. they have to stay engaged in the process. i know it is frustrating. everyone is entitled to a fair shot.

going as far as your hard work. we did never lose that essential truth. america is defined by one word, possibilities. only in america do we believe that anything is possible. that is the magic of america. it is all around us. i have walked by a painting of the statue of liberty on about how many times. it reminds me everyday i pass it of the story and soul of our nation.

the power of the american people. his job was to climb the torch and polish it. so that the light can reach out as far as possible. he was known as the keeper of the flame. he once said that the statue of liberty speaks a language of hope. a constant struggle. what i believe is the america of our dreams is always closer than we think. it is up to us to make our dreams come true. let me close by stating my

gratitude to so many people. thank you for stepping up to serve. it has been the highest honor of my life to lead you as commander-in-chief. they have become like family to me. family is everything. my deepest appreciation to my amazing first lady. you are the love of my life. after 50 years of public service, i give you my word, i still believe in the idea.

a nation where the strength of our institutions and the character of our people must stand for something. may you all be the keeper of the flame. god bless you all. in may god protect our troops. >> president biden speaking to the american public for the final time before he leaves office next week. a farewell to a nation d has served for half a century. we are joined by our correspondence. one of the things we heard him say is he warned of a dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a few wealthy people. one other themes in his remarks

stood out to you? >> the speech could be summed up by one of alliance he said at the very beginning. he was reflecting on who we are as a nation and who we should be . in that vein, a lot of this speech was dedicated to those warnings. he talked about the accomplishments he made. allowing medicare to negotiate drug prices. he said it might take time for the american public to fully feel the effective what he accomplished. the majority of this speech was about bigger themes. he said no president is immune

from crimes committed while in office. at a president's power is not absolute. very clear warning see is making. >> we saw messages from the president directed straight to the american people. saying you are keepers of the flame. what did you take away from some of the warnings? >> this is a man who has had a truly remarkable political career. i covered just a small part of it.

he ran for office 13 different times. he talked about the battle for the soul of america. this was a tangible speech about what he sees are the direct and specific problems right now. he could have talked a lot more at length about his own accomplishments. his tops record is something that economists will be talking about for years. he talked about a fair shot for people. i think he goes back to an older time.

we heard the phrase robber barons. he wants people to pay attention. >> a majority of americans give president biden low favorability rates. they disapprove of how he has conducted himself. >> i think we heard some of the president's response to that tonight when he specifically talked about social media getting up on fact checking. he talked about the level of disinformation. that is something that this white house has vented a lot

about. they feel that despite him doing a lot to bring the country back from the pandemic and statistics showing that the economy is rebounding, they feel like he has not gotten credit for that. they ultimately have blamed some of that on this new information environment of the country is in. trying to make sure that facts are what reach the public. they think that ultimately, americans will look back on this

very differently. potentially very similar to the way people viewed president obama's actions. they believe that ultimately the public will credit them for the actions taken. his polling numbers do not look very good. we have a poll out today that shows that his disapproval rating is at 50%. >> we know he has been leading the nation. and his party. what do democratic sources tell you about this moment? >> i cannot find someone who was

watching the speech. he has talked about his legacy. >> a lot of questions with the party. concerns that he has for the country. that concludes our special live coverage of president biden's address. thank you for joining us. >> we will have much more tomorrow night. right now we return you to your regularly scheduled pbs programs. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

>> thanks for your thoughts. david makovsky, director of the program at the washington institute of near east policy. announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ announcer: "usa today" calls it, "arguably the best bargain in streaming." that's because the free pbs app lets you watch the best of pbs anytime, anywhere.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... brett: you know as someone coming out of college it can be very nerve-racking not knowing what to expect, whether you'll like your job or not, whether you'll make friends,