Obama on the Trump era: 'This is just a little pit stop'

Barack Obama.
(Image credit: Screenshot/BBC News)

Before jetting off to Palm Springs, California, former President Barack Obama said a quick goodbye to his staff and supporters at Joint Base Andrews. "Michelle and I have really been milking this goodbye thing," Obama joked, before offering some parting thoughts on the progress he saw during his presidency and what the future may hold.

"Our democracy is not the buildings, it's not the monuments. It's you, being willing to work," Obama said, recalling how his supporters "came together, from small towns and big cities" and "decided to believe." He urged his supporters to keep doing this, and promised he'd be right there with them. "This is just a little pit stop," Obama said, just an hour after President Donald Trump was sworn into office. "This is not a period, this is a comma in the continuing story of building America."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More