Obama's parting words: 'We're going to be OK'
Barack
Obama used his departing words as President Wednesday to offer an
assured -- if not entirely optimistic -- outlook for a country governed
by Donald Trump.
"At my core I
think we're going to be OK," Obama said as he concluded his final news
conference at the White House. "We just have to fight for it, work for
it, and not take it for granted."
"I know that you will help us do that," he told reporters assembled in the White House briefing room.
If
the message was still hopeful, it was a sharp downgrade from the grand
visions of progressive change that propelled Obama to the presidency
eight years ago.
In his
question-and-answer session with reporters, Obama said that after two
terms of political warfare with Republicans, he was emerging unbowed in
his faith in the US and its citizens. But he continued to express
concerns about his successor's stance on Russia and his readiness for
office.
"I
believe in this country. I believe in the American people. I believe
that people are more good than bad," Obama said. "I believe tragic
things happen. I think there's evil in the world, but I think at the end
of the day, if we work hard and if we're true to those things in us
that feel true and feel right, that the world gets a little better each
time."
"That's what this presidency has tried to be about," he continued.
Conceding
that Trump may not take his advice on issues, Obama said he would avoid
weighing in on specific policy matters during his post-presidency,
using his time instead to write and "not hear myself talk so darn much."
'Core values'
But he predicted he would voice concern if "core values" are being threatened.
"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," Obama said.
Obama said he was calmed by the notion of the Oval Office as a moderating factor on Trump's bombastic tendencies.
He
said once Trump gets into office and is hit with the intricate details
of governing, his thinking might shift on issues such as Obamacare and
jobs.
"Once he comes into office
and he looks at the complexities of how to in fact provide healthcare
for everybody, something he says he wants to do, or wants to make sure
that he is encouraging job creation and wage growth in this country,
that may lead him to some of the same conclusions that I arrived at once
I got here," Obama said. "But I don't think we'll know until he has an
actual chance to get sworn in and sit behind that desk."
In
a news conference that will likely mark the final time Obama speaks in
public before he departs the US Capitol on Friday as an ex-president,
Obama described the phone calls between him and Trump as "constructive"
and at times "lengthy."
He said the greatest advice he could give -- and has given -- to Trump, is to rely on others around him.
"This is a job of such magnitude that you can't do it by yourself," Obama said.
Obama
opened the news conference rebuffing Trump, issuing a vocal defense of
the White House press corps, insisting the reporters who covered his
administration were an essential facet of a functioning democracy.
"We
are accountable to the people who send us here. And you have done it,"
Obama said. "You're not supposed to be sycophants. You're supposed to be
skeptics."
His
remarks stood in direct contrast to the incoming president, who has
lambasted news organizations reporting on his transition as reporting "fake news."
His choice to appear in the White House briefing room was also telling
since Trump's team has floated the possibility of scrapping that venue
for larger space.
Obama was
continuing a tradition of taking reporters' questions for a final time
before departing office. George W. Bush held his final news conference a
week before leaving office, reflecting on some of the disappointments
of his administration but also defending the controversial decisions he
made over two terms in the White House.
Unlike Bush, Obama is leaving office with near-record approval ratings. A CNN/ORC poll released Wednesday showed 60% of Americans approve of the job he's doing as president.
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