US PRESIDENT BARACK Obama bowed out of the Oval Office with a typically measured press conference today.
Speaking to press in the White House for the last time, Obama sent a message to his successor Donald Trump, urging him against acting rashly in office. He said that he had had “fairly lengthy and substantive” conversations with the incoming President.
“I can tell you that — and this is something I have told him — that this is a job of such magnitude that you can’t do it by yourself. You are enormously reliant on a team.
“But if you’re going to make big shifts in policy, just make sure you’ve thought it through and understand that there are going to be consequences and actions typically create reactions.”
Obama said that he would like to be retired, meaning he will not run for any political office. He did, however, say he would speak up if he felt America’s “core values” were being debased.
In a veiled warning to Trump, Obama also said systematic discrimination or any effort to “round up” immigrant youths “arbitrarily or because of politics… would merit me speaking out.”
“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.”
Asked what he told his daughters Sasha and Malia after the election, he said the pair were “something”.
“They were disappointed.
They paid attention to what their mom said during the campaign and believed it because it’s consistent with what we have tried to teach them in our household and what I’ve tried to model as a father with their mom and what we’ve asked them to expect from future boyfriends or spouses. But what we’ve also tried to teach them is resilience and we’ve tried to teach them hope and that the only thing that is the end of the world is the end of the world.
Overall, the outgoing President said, he believes America will be ok.
“It is true that behind closed doors, I curse more than I do publicly and sometimes I get mad and frustrated like everybody else does, but at my core, I think we’re going to be OK. We just have to fight for it.”
Obama said that in retirement he would like to do some writing, but first will take a family holiday to Palm Springs, California.
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