US Presidency
2021

Good evening, my fellow Americans. Tonight, I’d like to talk to you about where we are as we mark one year since everything stopped because of this pandemic. A year ago, we were hit with a virus that was met with silence and spread unchecked. Denials for days, weeks, then months that led to more deaths, more infections, more stress, and more loneliness. Photos and videos from 2019 feel like they were taken in another era. The last vacation. The last birthday with friends. The last holiday with the extended family. While it was different for everyone, we all lost something. A collective suffering. A collective sacrifice. A year filled with the loss of life — and the loss of living for all of us. But, in the loss, we saw how much there was to gain in appreciation, respect, and gratitude. Finding light in the darkness is a very American thing to do. In fact, it may be the most American thing we do. And that’s what we’ve done.