The United States President, Barack Obama, has vigorously defended his legacy while striking an optimistic note for America’s future in his final State of the Union address.
President Obama criticised the negative tone of the current presidential race, arguing the US has the “strongest, most durable economy in the world”.
“Anyone claiming that America’s economy is in decline is peddling fiction,” Mr Obama told lawmakers in Washington.
And South Carolina Governor, Nikki Haley, said in the party’s official response his record “had fallen short of his soaring words”.
President Obama’s speech to Congress highlighted what he saw as his achievements in office, such as health reform.
The BBC reported that this will be an address remembered not for its policy prescriptions, but for its upbeat assessment of how much better America is today than when Obama came to office.
President Obama focused on the need to tackle income inequality, use technology to combat climate change and maintain national security while not becoming mired in foreign conflicts.
