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| 'We're biggest kid on the block': President Barack Obama's final press conference (WATCH LIVE) | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Just two days before Barack Obama is to vacate 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, he's answering questions from the White House press corps for the last time. Obama was asked about commuting Chelsea Manning's sentence, Russia and Israel. | |
| READ MORE: The long goodbye: As Trump inauguration approaches, Obama seeks to save legacy | READ MORE: The long goodbye: As Trump inauguration approaches, Obama seeks to save legacy |
| Obama started the conference talking about the importance of journalists who are "pushing the government to being the better version of itself." | Obama started the conference talking about the importance of journalists who are "pushing the government to being the better version of itself." |
| The first question was asked about Chelsea Manning. | The first question was asked about Chelsea Manning. |
| “Chelsea Manning has served a tough prison sentence,” Obama said noting that the sentence she received was disproportionate and that she served part of the sentence. | “Chelsea Manning has served a tough prison sentence,” Obama said noting that the sentence she received was disproportionate and that she served part of the sentence. |
| “It has been my view that given she went to trial, that due process was carried out, that she took responsibility for her crime, that the sentence she received was very disproportionate relative to what other leakers have received, and that she had served a significant amount of time, it made sense to commute – not pardon – part of her sentence.” | “It has been my view that given she went to trial, that due process was carried out, that she took responsibility for her crime, that the sentence she received was very disproportionate relative to what other leakers have received, and that she had served a significant amount of time, it made sense to commute – not pardon – part of her sentence.” |
| Commutation sent a message that whistleblowers “need to work through established channels,” he added. | Commutation sent a message that whistleblowers “need to work through established channels,” he added. |
| “With respect to WikiLeaks, I don’t see a contradiction,” he said. Intelligence community conclusions on Russian hacking weren’t conclusive as to whether WikiLeaks were a witting conduit. The US needs to embrace transparency, but there are “bad actors out there who wish to use that same openness and transparency in order to hurt us.” | “With respect to WikiLeaks, I don’t see a contradiction,” he said. Intelligence community conclusions on Russian hacking weren’t conclusive as to whether WikiLeaks were a witting conduit. The US needs to embrace transparency, but there are “bad actors out there who wish to use that same openness and transparency in order to hurt us.” |
| Obama blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for "return to an adversarial spirit." "After President Putin came back into the presidency, an escalating anti-American rhetoric," he said, linking the continuation of sanctions with the developments in Ukraine. | Obama blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for "return to an adversarial spirit." "After President Putin came back into the presidency, an escalating anti-American rhetoric," he said, linking the continuation of sanctions with the developments in Ukraine. |
| He went on to talk about the role of the US as guarantor that "big countries don’t go around and invade and bully small countries.” | |
| “In every multilateral setting, the US typically has been on the right side of these issues, and it’s important for us to stay on the right side of these issues. Because if we – the largest, strongest country and democracy in the world – don’t stand up for these values, certainly others like China, Russia, won’t,” he said. | |
| When asked if he would try to preserve his legacy while Trump is in office, Obama replied that after he won an election against his vision, “it is appropriate for him to go forward with his vision and his values. I don’t expect there to be enormous overlap.” He added that when he comes into office, and sees the complexities of certain issues, “that may lead him to some of the same conclusions that I arrived at, once I got here.” | |
| Obama said that he's significantly worried about "the Israeli-Palestinian issue.”“Status quo is unsustainable, dangerous for Israel, bad for Palestinians, bad for the region and bad for US national security,” he said. | |
| He said that he doesn't see any alternative but the two-state solution, but added that Trump and his team will have new policy. “We’ll see how their approach plays itself out,” he said. “The actions that we take have enormous consequences and ramifications. We’re the biggest kid on the block.” | |
| Explaining why Trump has won, Obama said: | |
| “Many people voted for [Trump] because they feel forgotten and disenfranchised… You don’t want to have an America in which a very small sliver of people are doing really well, and everyone else is fighting for scraps.” | |
| He said that voting fraud speculations are 'fake news,' but there is the problem of 'people who are eligible to vote but can’t.' |