President Obama told an audience of young Vietnamese leaders that Americans usually “correct course” after making mistakes, referring to the divisive 2016 presidential race.
“One of the great things about the United States is that even when it makes mistakes it’s able to adjust and recognize our mistakes and we correct course and take different steps,” Obama said. “Things are going to be OK. I promise.”
Obama made the remarks at his last public event during his Vietnam trip — a town hall event hosting approximately 800 young Vietnamese people from the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative in Ho Chi Minh City.
“I think sometimes other countries look at our election system and people think ‘wow what a mess,’ but usually we end up doing OK because the American people are good people,” Obama said in response to a question from one person in the audience.
The town hall turned from politics to President Obama’s personal life when one questioner asked Obama about how he went from being a kid who smoked marijuana to the President of the United States.
Obama responded by saying he rebelled as a kid because “something was missing.” As he grew older, he said he stopped “worrying about the father who wasn’t there” and worried more about what he could do.
The final question came from a young female rapper who rapped a few verses after President Obama started beat boxing to get her started. Obama said that sometimes “art is dangerous,” causing concerns among governments. “If you try to suppress the arts then I think you are suppressing the deepest dreams and aspirations of a people,” he said.
