America ‘emerged stronger and better than before’: Obama says in final SOTU speech

US President Barack Obama gave his final State of the Union address in front of Congress on Tuesday.

Obama started his address by thanking Republican Speaker Paul Ryan and other leaders for passing a budget and making tax cuts for working families. He hoped to work together for bipartisan issues like criminal justice and helping those battling drug abuse.

Speaker Ryan earlier said he was preparing for Obama’s final address by practising a “poker face,” because he did not want to react. He previously predicted that Obama would use his final address to help Hillary Clinton, CNN reported.

The US president stressed on fixing the “broken immigration system” as well as protecting American children from gun violence. The US president recently had tears rolling down his face while he talked about taking action against the bloodshed caused by gun violence.

He asked for raising the minimum wage and other issues like paid leave and equal pay for equal work, as such things matter to hardworking families.

In spite of talking only about the next one year, Obama said he wanted to focus on the next five years, the nest ten years and even beyond.

“We live in a time of extraordinary change -- change that's reshaping the way we live, the way we work, our planet, our place in the world,” President Obama said. “It's change that promises amazing medical breakthroughs, but also economic disruptions that strain working families.”

Obama, however, said America “made change work” for the country. “And because we did, because we saw opportunity where others saw peril, we emerged stronger and better than before,” Obama said.

Read the complete transcript HERE.