President Obama To Reporters At Final News Conference: 'America Needs You'

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Obama on Wednesday defended the role of a free press in a democracy, compared current restrictions on voting rights to "Jim Crow" laws and said he commuted Chelsea Manning's sentence because she has been in prison long enough.

Obama was addressing reporters at a news conference for the last time before he leaves the White House on Jan. 20.

"Having you in this building has made this place work better," Obama said. "It keeps us honest, it makes us work harder. You have made us think about how we are doing what we do and whether or not we’re able to deliver on what’s been requested by our constituents."

Obama's successor, Donald Trump, has threatened to "open" up libel laws, said he could remove long-established media outlets from White House briefings and floated the idea of moving reporters out of the building altogether.

Obama said he would make his voice heard if the next administration tries to "silence dissent or the press."

"You're not supposed to be sycophants. You're supposed to be skeptics. You're supposed to ask tough questions," Obama told reporters. "You’re not supposed to be complimentary, but you’re supposed to cast a critical eye on folks who hold enormous power and make sure that we are accountable to the people who sent us here, and you have done that."

Trump during the campaign season verbally attacked news outlets that he felt covered him unfairly and blacklisted some from attending his rallies and speeches. At his most recent news conference, Trump blasted CNN as "fake news" and called Buzzfeed a "failing pile of garbage."

Obama said of the press: "America needs you, and our democracy needs you."

"I’m looking forward to being an active consumer of your work, rather than always the subject of it," Obama concluded in his opening remarks. "I want to thank you all for your extraordinary service to our democracy."

On voting rights, Obama said new restrictions trace "directly back to Jim Crow."

"We are the only country in the advanced world that makes it harder to vote rather than easier," Obama said. "There is an ugly history to that."

Trump, who lost the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes, blamed that loss on the "millions" of people who "voted illegally" in the 2016 presidential election. He has offered no proof to support his claims.

Obama called accusations of widespread voter fraud "fake news."

He defended his decision to commute the sentence of Manning, the former U.S. soldier who leaked thousands of secret documents. Obama said "justice has been served" and that her commutation wouldn't necessarily encourage future leakers.

"Chelsea Manning has served a tough prison sentence," he said. "The notion that the average person who was thinking about disclosing vital classified information would think that it goes unpunished, I don’t think would get that impression from the sentence that Chelsea Manning has served."

Obama also defended his decision to impose sanctions on Russia for its role in attempting to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election. He said he sought to have a friendly relationship with the country when he took power, but Russia's annexation of Crimea changed that.

"It is important for us to stand up for basic principles, that big countries don't go bully smaller countries," he said.

He opened by acknowledging former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, who were recently hospitalized.

"They have not only dedicated their lives to this country," Obama said. "They have been a constant source of friendship and support and good counsel for Michelle and me over the years. They are as fine a couple as we know, and so we want to send our prayers and our love to them."

Watch a replay of Obama's press conference below:

Image via the White House