--- title: Barack Obama Urges Americans Not to Give Into Fear description: President Obama urged Americans not to succumb to fear amid the investigations into terror bombings in New York and New Jersey. canonical: https://time.com/4499471/president-obama-urges-americans-not-to-give-into-fear-in-the-wake-of-attacks/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-09-19T15:56:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T06:47:23.133Z article:section: Politics og:title: Obama Urges Americans Not to Give Into Fear og:description: In wake of attacks in New York, New Jersey and Minnesota. og:url: https://time.com/4499471/president-obama-urges-americans-not-to-give-into-fear-in-the-wake-of-attacks/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc0416d77c9bbb134/6988a6a3ab6d7742236ab47f/gettyimages-607784064-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: US President Barack Obama delivers a statement September 19, 2016 in New York, New York, on the bombings in New York and New Jersey. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama Urges Americans Not to Give Into Fear twitter:description: In wake of attacks in New York, New Jersey and Minnesota. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc0416d77c9bbb134/6988a6a3ab6d7742236ab47f/gettyimages-607784064-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Obama Urges Americans Not to Give Into Fear in the Wake of Attacks > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=662bbac7-5cd6-45a4-9bf4-9976a38d4bdb&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Obama Urges US To Not Succumb To Fear Following Chelsea Bombings [Watch (HLS stream): Obama Urges US To Not Succumb To Fear Following Chelsea Bombings](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/utR11xzI.m3u8) (2:03)  _Published 2016-09-19. President Obama urged Americans not to succumb to fear amid the investigations into terror bombings in the New York, New Jersey and stabbings in Minnesota over the weekend._ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Sep 19, 2016 3:56 PM UTC by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Sep 19, 2016 3:56 PM UTC President Obama urged Americans not to succumb to fear amid the investigations into [terror bombings in the New York, New Jersey](http://time.com/4499466/new-york-new-jersey-elizabeth-chelsea-bombing-ahmad-khan-rahami/?xid=homepage) and stabbings in Minnesota over the weekend. “As Americans, we do not, and never will, give in to fear,” Obama said Monday. Speaking from the Lotte New York Palace Hotel, where the president is meeting with government officials from across the globe on Monday who are in town for the U.N. General Assembly, the president said he was grateful that no one was killed in the Saturday evening bombing in New York City, but wished the two dozen people who were injured a speedy recovery. As the president was speaking, officials in New York said a suspect in that attack, who has also been linked to subsequent bombs in New Jersey, [had been taken into custody](http://time.com/4499466/new-york-new-jersey-elizabeth-chelsea-bombing-ahmad-khan-rahami/?xid=homepage). The attacks, Obama said, are a reminder that all must be vigilant in efforts to thwart terrorism, repeating the line “if you see something suspicious, say something,” while speaking in New York on Monday. He also asked the media to hold off reporting unconfirmed bits of information, saying “it does not help if false reports or incomplete information is out there.” Obama also addressed the stabbings in Minnesota over the weekend, saying there is no connection between that event and the stabbings. Investigators are also looking into that case. The president said the federal government is providing officials in New York, Minnesota, and New Jersey all of the assistance they need throughout the investigations. “I want to take this opp to reassure the people in this city, this region, and across American that our count terrorism and law enforcement professionals at every level are working together around the clock to prevent attacks and keep us safe,” Obama said. The president called the terror organization ISIS a “failed cause” and said the U.S. will continue leading efforts to go after the group, its leaders, and its infrastructure in the ongoing coalition attacks in the Middle East. In New York and New Jersey, Obama said, folks “don’t get scared” “That kind of toughness and resoluteness and the recognition that neither individuals nor organ like ISIL can ultimately undermine our way of life that’s the kind of strength that makes me so proud to be an American,” Obama said. ## Transcript We've seen what was apparently a pipe bomb go off in New Jersey in Seaside Park, where it could have seriously injured our US Marines and spectators who were there for a race. The bombing in the Chelsea neighborhood, here in New York, injured more than two dozen people. I want to take this opportunity to reassure the people in this city. This region and Americans across our country that our counterterrorism and law enforcement professionals at every level, federal, state, and local, are working together around the clock to prevent attacks and to keep us safe. They are the best of the best. Over the years they have thwarted many plots and saved many lives. And we are incredibly grateful for their service today and every single day. We will continue to lead the global coalition in the fight to destroy ISIL which is instigating a lot of people over the Internet to carry out attacks. We are gonna continue to go after them. We're gonna take out their leaders, we're gonna take out their infrastructure. They are continuing to lose ground in Iraq and in Syria, and later today I'll be meeting with Prime Minister Abadi of Iraq to discuss the need to sustain that momentum. Moments like this I think it's important to remember what terrorist and violent extremest are trying to do. They are trying to hurt innocent people, but they also wanna inspire fear in all of us and disrupt the way we live, to undermine our values. And so, even as we have to be vigilant and aggressive, both in preventing Senseless acts of violence but also making sure that we find those who carry out such acts and bring them to justice. We all have a role to play as citizens in making sure that we don't succumb to that fear. 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