At his final news conference as president Wednesday, Barack Obama sought to reassure those Americans anxious about the change of administrations: “I believe in this country. I believe in the American people. I believe that people are more good than bad.”
White House reporters questioned Obama about his decision to shorten the prison term of former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, and other topics. The president fielded those easily, but took his time answering the final query, about how he discussed the results of the U.S. election with his two teenaged daughters, Sasha and Malia.
Obama said Malia and Sasha were disappointed by Republican Donald Trump's defeat of his preferred candidate, Democrat Hillary Clinton, just as he and first lady Michelle were, but that he is proud of them because they are resilient, patriotic and not cynical.
The president admitted his public persona - calm and cheerful - is not quite the way he feels when behind closed doors.
“I curse more than I do in public, and sometimes I get mad and frustrated, like everybody else does," he said. "But at my core, I think we're going to be okay [as a country]. We just have to fight for it, we have to work for it, and not take it for granted, and I know that you will help us do that.”