President Barack Obama appeared before reporters on Wednesday for the final news conference of his presidency. Before he turns the White House over to President-elect Donald Trump on Friday, Obama fielded questions on his commutation of Chelsea Manning’s sentence, his legacy as the first black president and his plans after he leaves office.
3:12 PM: Obama was asked about his legacy as the first black president. He said he doesn’t think he’ll be the last:
“We’re going to see people of merit rise up from every race, faith, corner of this country,” Obama said.
He said that while predictions that his election meant the U.S. was entering a post-racial society could never have come true, but that he believes that relations improve as time passes.
“We’ve got more work to do on race,” Obama said. “I have more confidence on racial issues in the next generation. I think kids are smarter about it, they are more tolerant, they are more inclusive by instinct. Hopefully my presidency helped that a long a little bit.”
2:56 PM: The Obama administration was highly criticized for its abstention of a U.N. resolution last month that condemned Israeli settlement building. Obama defended the decision, saying he remains extremely concerned about the prospects for peace in the Middle East.
“The goal of the resolution was to simply say that ... the growth of the settlements are creating a reality on the ground that increasingly will make a two-state solution impossible,” Obama said.
The last serious effort at peace between the Israelis and Palestinians, mediated by Secretary of State John Kerry, collapsed in 2014. Neither party has indicated they are prepared to make concessions necessary to achieve a two-state solution.
2:53 PM: Obama said his decision to end the “wet foot, dry foot” policy regarding Cuban migrants as “fair and appropriate to changing nature of the relationship.”
2:50 PM: Obama was asked what his plans were post-presidency and how he intends to interact with the political system. He reiterated his intention to be a vocal ex-president when he sees something that “merits me speaking out.” He said he wouldn’t run for office again, but wants to spend some time over the next year with his family, writing and being quiet.
2:45 PM: When asked about his private conversations with Trump, Obama said he wouldn’t reveal what the two men discussed. But he did say that he offered the incoming president his best advice, which includes building a staff of people he can trust to help him make decisions.
“This is a job of such magnitude that you can’t do it by yourself,” Obama said. “You are enormously reliant on a team, your Cabinet, your senior White House staff, all the way to fairly junior folks.”
Obama declined to comment on the boycott by some Democratic House members of the inauguration.
2:40 PM: Obama said it is important for the U.S. to stand up to countries like Russia when it sees that international norms are being violated.
“It is important for the United States to stand up for the basic principle that big countries don’t go around and invade and bully smaller countries,” Obama said.
2:33 PM: Obama said he pardoned Chelsea Manning because she had gone through due process and taken responsibility for leaking government information, but that “the sentence that she received was very disproportionate relative to what other leakers” have gotten for similar crimes.
“I looked at the particulars of this case ... and I felt that in light of all the circumstances that commuting her sentence was entirely appropriate,” Obama said. “She had served a significant amount of time. It makes sense to commute and not pardon her sentence. I feel very comfortable that justice has been served.”
Obama said he did not feel that commuting Manning’s sentence sent a negative message about the lack of repercussions for leaking classified government material.
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