At his press conference with Chancellor Merkel, President Obama was asked if would advise protesters at home to stop demonstrating. I have transcribed his entire response because for those who were not able to watch the press conference when it was happening.
REPORTER: You've spoken a great deal about what you've characterized as a crude form of nationalism perhaps on the rise. I'm wondering if you would advise some of the protesters at home to stop demonstrating against some of the charged rhetoric that has been used by Donald Trump. And I'm wondering as well if you've advised your successor to be extra mindful of what you see as some very worrisome trends, particularly when it comes to making his own potentially powerful staff picks. Lastly, sir, in these final weeks of your presidency do you believe you have any leverage to stop Bashar al-Assad from continuing to bomb Aleppo?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: One of the great things about our democracy is it expresses itself in all sorts of ways. And that includes people protesting. I have been the subject of protests during the course of my eight years, and I suspect that there is not a president in our history that at some point hasn't been subject to these protests. So, I would not advise people who feel strongly or are concerned about some of the issues that have been raised during the course of the campaign. I wouldn't advise them to be silent. What I would advise, what I advised before the election, and what I will continue to advise after the election, is that elections matter, voting matters, organizing matters, being informed on the issues matter. And what I consistently say to young people. I say it in the United States, but I'll say it here in Germany and across Europe.
DO NOT TAKE FOR GRANTED our systems of government and our way of life. I think there is a tendency because we have lived in an era that has been largely stable and peaceful, at least in advanced countries, where living standards have generally gone up, there is a tendency to I think assume that that's always the case. And it's not. Democracy is hard work.
In the United States, if 43% of eligible voters do not vote, then democracy is weakened. If we are not serious about facts and what's true and what's not. And particularly in an age of social media where so many people are getting their information in sound bites and snippets off their phones ... if we can't discriminate between serious arguments and propaganda. Then we have problems.
If people, whether they are conservative or liberal, left or right, are unwilling to compromise and engage in the democratic process, and are taking absolutist views, and demonizing opponents, then democracy will break down.
And so, I think my most important advice is to understand what are the foundations of a healthy democracy, and how we have to engage in citizenship continuously, not just when something upsets us. Not just when there's an election, or when an issue pops up for a few weeks. It's hard work. And the good news is, I think there are a lot of young people, certainly who were involved in my campaigns, and I think continue to be involved in work, not just politically but thought nonprofits and other organizations, that can carry this hard work of democracy forward.
But I do think sometimes there's complacency. Here in Europe I think that there are a lot of young people who forget the issues that were at sake during the Cold War. Who forget what it meant to have a wall. And I'll be honest, there have been times when I listen to the rhetoric here in Europe where an easy equivalence somehow between the United States and Russia, and between how our governments operate versus other governments operate ... where those distinctions aren't made.
I've said many times around the world that like any government, like any country, like any set of human institutions, we have our flaws. We've operated imperfectly. There are times when we've made mistakes. There are times where I've made mistakes, or our administration hasn't always aligned ourselves with the values that we need to align ourselves with. It's a work of constant improvement, but I can say to the German people that the United States has been good for Germany, has looked out for Germany, has provided security for Germany, has helped to rebuild Germany, and unify Germany. And I can say, across Europe, that many principles that have been taken for granted here around free speech, and around civil liberties, and an independent judiciary, and fighting corruption ... those are principles that, not perfectly, but generally we have tried to apply not just in our own country, but also with respect to our foreign policy.
And that should be remembered, because in an age where there is so much active misinformation, and it's packaged very well, and it looks the same when you see it on a Facebook page, or you turn on your television, where some over zealousness on the part of a U.S. Official is equated with constant and severe repression elsewhere, if everything seems to be the same, and no distinctions are made, then we won't know what to protect. We won't know what to fight for. And we can lose so much of what we've gained in terms of the kind of democratic freedoms and market-based economies and prosperity that we've come to take for granted.
That was a long, wasn't it? I don't remember if there was a second part to it. I got all caught up in that one.
REPORTER: I asked you if you advised the president elect ...
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Yes, I did. I did. He ran an extraordinarily unconventional campaign and it resulted in the biggest political upset in perhaps modern political history; American history. And that means that he now has to transition to governance, and what I said to him was that what may work in generating enthusiasm or passion during elections, may be different than what will work in terms of unifying the country and gaining the trust even of those who didn't support him. And he's indicated his willingness to ... his understanding of that, but you're absolutely right that that has to reflect itself, not only in the things he says, but also how he fills out his administration. And my hope is that that's something that he is thinking about because not only is the President of the United States somebody that the entire country looks to for direction, but sets the agenda internationally in a lot of ways.
With respect to Syria, we are going to continue to work as we have over the last five, six years to push towards a political transition and settlement. It would be naive of me to suggest that with Russia committed militarily, as it is, to supporting what are in many cases barbarous tactics by the al-Assad regime to crush the opposition. The sort of indiscriminate bombing that we've been seeing not just in Aleppo, but in other parts of the country over the last several years; it would be naive of me to suggest that there's going to be a sudden 180 degree turn in policy by either al-Assad or Russia, or Iran, at this point. But we are going to continue to make the argument. We are going to continue try and find humanitarian steps that can reach the people there. We are going to continue to try to obtain susstations of hostilities that less the human tragedy and migration that's taking place. But ultimately the way that this is going to be resolved is going to be a recognition by Russia and a willingness to pressure al-Assad that a lasting, durable peace with a functioning country, requires the consent of people. You can not purchase peoples consent through killing them. They haven't made that transition yet, but we're going to keep on trying.