(NewsNation) — In a New Year’s Eve message Sunday, President Joe Biden declared America “is coming back.”
“My hope is that everybody has a healthy, happy and safe new year,” Biden said in a pre-recorded interview with Ryan Seacrest on ABC’s Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. “But beyond that, I hope that they understand that we’re in a better position than any country in the world, to lead the world. And we’re coming back and it’s about time.”
The president also touted the employment gains since he took office, saying: “We brought a lot of jobs back to the United States. People are in a position to be able to make a living now, and they’ve created a lot of jobs, over 14 million.”
“I just feel good that the American people got up,” Biden said. “They’ve been through a rough time with [the] pandemic, but now we’re coming back, they’re back.”
Biden, who was joined by First Lady Jill Biden, appeared from their tropical getaway in St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
When Seacrest asked the First Lady what her hopes for America were, she replied, “It’s what I would always tell my students: Be positive, be optimistic and be kind to one another.”
Biden on Saturday revealed his New Year’s resolution for 2024. “To come back next year,” Biden told reporters in St. Croix. “That’s the biggest one right there.”
The Bidens are scheduled to return to Washington, D.C. on Tuesday.