--- title: President Obama's Last Press Conference of 2016: Watch Live description: President Barack Obama will hold his final press conference of the year Friday afternoon. canonical: https://time.com/4604652/barack-obama-press-conference-livestream/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-12-16T15:30:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T06:56:49.616Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Obama's Last Press Conference of 2016: Watch Live og:description: He'll likely field questions about his new promise that the U.S. will retaliate against Russia og:url: https://time.com/4604652/barack-obama-press-conference-livestream/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt65b9bd8adfe4ce6a/6988b3118e060132e1468998/gettyimages-623223028.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: President Barack Obama Holds News Conference Before Departing For Greece og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Obama's Last Press Conference of 2016: Watch Live twitter:description: He'll likely field questions about his new promise that the U.S. will retaliate against Russia twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt65b9bd8adfe4ce6a/6988b3118e060132e1468998/gettyimages-623223028.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 04:21 video:published: 2016-12-16 section: politics topics: Syrian civil war, Aleppo humanitarian crisis, Russian hacking of the DNC, foreign election interference, presidential transition, Hillary Clinton election coverage, South Sudan violence, presidential responsibility genre: press conference tones: somber, reflective, measured, critical emotions: concern (high), sadness (medium), frustration (medium), responsibility (high) sentiment: negative audience: news consumers, political observers, foreign policy followers, voters people: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Assad organizations: White House, DNC, Russia, Iran content_suitability: war [00:08-01:12]; death [00:42-01:12]; violence [00:42-01:12]; tragedy [03:34-04:21]; politics [00:00-04:21] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Watch Live: President Obama's Last Press Conference of 2016 > 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=6581a2ef-db63-4993-b5bf-026773b6a9ea&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Obama Gives Last Presser Of 2016 [Watch (HLS stream): President Obama Gives Last Presser Of 2016](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Vy5JR1rr.m3u8) (4:21)  _Published 2016-12-16. President Obama spoke during his last press conference at the White House in 2016. He said that the issue of Russian hacking the election should not be partisan._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary President Obama opens his final press conference of 2016 by discussing the civil war in Syria and the humanitarian crisis in Aleppo, blaming the Assad regime and its Russian and Iranian allies. He then addresses the finding that Russia hacked the DNC, calling for a review and protection against foreign interference in elections. He discusses private conversations with the president-elect and praises Hillary Clinton's service, and closes by describing his sense of responsibility for suffering around the world. ## Key points - Obama says the world is united in condemning the savage assault by Russian and Iranian allies on the city of Aleppo. (00:14) - Obama calls for an impartial international observer force in Aleppo to coordinate an orderly evacuation through safe corridors. (01:15) - Obama places responsibility for the brutality in Syria with the Assad regime and its allies Russia and Iran. (00:59) - Obama states that uniform intelligence assessments found the Russians were responsible for hacking the DNC. (01:27) - Obama says preventing foreign influence in elections should not be a source of argument and that he hopes the president-elect will share that concern. (01:55) - Obama says he has had cordial private conversations with the president-elect and made specific suggestions about maintaining the integrity of the office. (02:14) - Obama says Secretary Clinton was not treated fairly during the election and that the coverage of her and the issues was troubling. (02:57) - Obama says he feels responsible for murder and slaughter in South Sudan that is not being reported on, partly because of less social media coverage. (03:34) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:26] Opening remarks and Syria crisis. Obama opens the press conference and begins discussing the civil war in Syria and the situation in Aleppo. - [00:26 to 01:12] Atrocities in Aleppo. Obama describes attacks on civilians, humanitarian workers and neighborhoods in Aleppo and assigns responsibility to the Assad regime and its allies. - [01:12 to 02:10] Russian hacking and election security. Obama states that the Russians hacked the DNC and calls for preventing foreign interference in future elections. - [02:10 to 02:57] Conversations with the president-elect. Obama describes cordial private conversations with the president-elect and suggestions about maintaining democratic institutions. - [02:57 to 03:34] Praise for Clinton and treatment in election. Obama praises Secretary Clinton's service and says she was not treated fairly during the election. - [03:34 to 04:21] Sense of responsibility for global suffering. Obama describes feeling responsible for suffering around the world, including in South Sudan, and asks whether he could save lives. ## Key quotes - [01:55] Barack Obama: "I don't think any American wants that. And that shouldn't" - [02:57] Barack Obama: "I don't think she was treated fairly during the election." - [03:34] Barack Obama: "I feel responsible for murder and slaughter that's taken place in South Sudan that's not being reported on." - [00:59] Barack Obama: "Responsibility for this brutality lies in one place alone, with the Assad regime and its allies Russia and Iran." - [04:01] Barack Obama: "I ask myself every single day is there something I could do that would save lives and make a difference?" ## Questions this video answers - What does Obama say should happen in Aleppo? [01:15] - Who does Obama hold responsible for the brutality in Syria? [00:59] - What did US intelligence assessments conclude about the DNC hacking? [01:27] - What does Obama say about his conversations with the president-elect? [02:14] - How does Obama describe Hillary Clinton's treatment during the election? [02:57] - Why does Obama say he feels responsible for suffering in South Sudan? [03:34] ## Content suitability - war [00:08-01:12]: Discussion of the civil war in Syria and the assault on Aleppo. - death [00:42-01:12]: References to civilians being executed and deaths in Aleppo. - violence [00:42-01:12]: Describes targeting of civilians, humanitarian workers and medical personnel. - tragedy [03:34-04:21]: Describes murder and slaughter in South Sudan and children suffering. - politics [00:00-04:21]: Entire video concerns US politics, election interference and the presidential transition.  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Dec 16, 2016 3:30 PM UTC President Obama spoke during his last press conference at the White House in 2016\. He said that the issue of Russian hacking the election should not be partisan.  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Dec 16, 2016 3:30 PM UTC [President Barack Obama](http://time.com/the-obamas-family-album/) will hold his final press conference of the year Friday afternoon. Obama will take questions from the press before his family’s trip to Hawaii over the holidays. He’ll likely field questions about his [new promise](http://time.com/4604505/white-house-putin-dnc-hacking-election-russia-trump/?xid=homepage) that the U.S. will retaliate against Russia for its suspected interference in the U.S. election process. “Some of it may be explicit and publicized, some of it may not be,” Obama [told NPR ](http://www.npr.org/2016/12/15/505775550/obama-on-russian-hacking-we-need-to-take-action-and-we-will)Thursday of the action against Russia. “But Mr. Putin is well aware of my feelings about this, because I spoke to him directly about it.” The press conference is scheduled to begin at 2:15 p.m. ET. You can watch the live stream above. ## Transcript [00:00] Good afternoon. This is the most wonderful [00:04] press conference of the year. [ LAUGH ] I've got a list [00:08] of who's been naughty and nice, to call on. But, let me [00:12] first make a couple of quick points, and then I'll take [00:14] your question. For years, we've worked to stop the [00:18] civil war in Syria, and alleviate human suffering It [00:23] is one of the hardest issue that I faced as president, [00:26] the world as we speak, united and four the savage [00:30] assault of the russian and the Iranian allies on [00:35] the city of elope. We have seen a deliberate seen. [00:42] Innocent civilians. We've seen relentless targeting of [00:45] humanitarian workers and medical personnel. Entire [00:48] neighborhoods reduced to rubble and dust. There are [00:52] continuing reports of civilians being executed. These [00:56] are all horrific violations of international law. [00:59] Responsibility for this brutality lies in one place alone, [01:03] with the Assad regime and its allies Russia and Iran. [01:07] And this blood and these atrocities are on their hands. [01:12] We all know what needs to happen. There needs to be [01:15] an impartial international observer force in Aleppo. [01:19] They can help coordinate an orderly evacuation [01:23] through safe corridors. What we've simply said is the [01:27] facts, which are that based on [01:32] uniform intelligence assessments, the Russians were [01:36] responsible for hacking the DNC. And [01:42] that as a consequence it is important [01:46] for us to review all elements of that and make [01:51] sure that we are preventing that kind of interference [01:55] through cyber attacks in the future. My hope is that [02:00] the president elect Is going to similarly be concerned [02:04] with making sure that we don't have potential foreign [02:07] influence in our election process. I don't think any [02:10] American wants that. And that shouldn't [02:14] be a source of an argument. I haven't shared, [02:18] previously, private conversations I've had with the [02:21] President- Elect. I will say that they have been Cordial [02:25] and in some cases have involved me making some [02:28] pretty specific suggestions about how to ensure [02:33] that regardless of our obvious deep disagreements [02:38] about policy Maybe [02:42] I can transmit some thoughts about maintaining the [02:49] effectiveness, integrity, cohesion of the office, a various [02:54] democratic institutions. I've said before I could be [02:57] prouder Secretary Clinton for her outstanding service. [03:01] Think she's worked tirelessly on behalf of the American [03:03] people and I don't think she was treated fairly during [03:05] the election. I think the [03:09] coverage of her and the [03:13] issues was troubling. Mike, I always feel responsible. [03:16] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] I [03:20] Felt responsible when kids were being shot by [03:25] snipers, I felt responsible when millions of people had [03:28] been displaced. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [03:34] I feel responsible for murder and slaughter that's [03:37] taken place in South Sudan that's not being reported [03:40] on. Partly because there's [03:44] not as much social media being generated from there. [03:46] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] There are places [03:51] around the world where horrible things are happening, [03:53] and because of my office, because I'm President [03:57] of the United States, I feel responsible. I ask myself [04:01] every single day is there something I could do that [04:03] would save lives and make a difference? 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