President Obama gave his final presidential press conference on Wednesday afternoon. You can watch it above.
With Donald Trump set to be sworn in as president in just two days, Obama used this press conference to reflect on his two terms in office, as well as looking forward to challenges his successor might face.
Obama was asked about his decision to commute Chelsea Manning’s sentence, relations with Russia, Democrats boycotting the inauguration, and which issues could spur him to become actively engaged in politics again.
On that last topic, he said he would give the incoming president some space to handle the normal “ebb and flow” of political issues, but:
“There’s a difference between that normal functioning of politics and certain issues or certain moments where I think our core values may be at stake. I put in that category, if I saw systematic discrimination being ratified in some fashion. I put in that category, explicit or functional obstacles to people being able to vote, to exercise their franchise. I put in that category institutional efforts to silence dissent or the press. And for me at least I would put in that category, efforts to round up kids who have grown up here and for all practical purposes are American kids and send them someplace else.”
