Obama To Press: "Democracy Needs You"

President Obama

President Obama, giving his final press conference, gave praise to reporters who have covered him and called on the news media to cover the next administration “with the same tenacity that you showed us.”

“You are not supposed to be sycophants, you are supposed to be skeptics,” Obama told reporters gathered in the White House briefing room.

According to Variety, he even made a reference to reports that President-elect Trump’s team is considering changes that may move briefings out of the West Wing to a larger space, perhaps outside of the White House building itself to the Old Executive Office Building, which is on the White House grounds.

“Having you in this building has made us work better,” Obama said.

He said that a free press “is part of how this grand experiment in self-government works…America needs you and democracy needs you.”