Obama Takes Dig At Trump’s Media Policy In Final Press Conference

President Barack Obama speaks during his final presidential news conference, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017, in the briefing room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
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During his final news conference, President Barack Obama took an apparent swing at Donald Trump’s reported plans to move the press corps out of the White House.

“Having you in this building has made this work place better,” Obama told reporters in the White House briefing room. “It keeps us honest, 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.”

He said that a free press is “essential” to American democracy.

“My hope is that you will continue with the same tenacity that you showed us to do the hard work of getting to the bottom of stories and getting them right and to push those of us in power to be the best version of ourselves,” Obama said. “And to push this country to be the best version of itself.”

Trump’s incoming administration was considering a plan to remove the press corps from the White House briefing room, according to a report published Saturday.

But in an interview on “Fox and Friends” broadcast Wednesday morning, Trump said that his administration would “just pick” the reporters allowed into the White House briefing room, indicating that the President-elect is likely to continue his adversarial relationship with the press after his inauguration.

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