President Obama Discusses Donald Trump & More With '60 Minutes'

Following his previous farewell speech in Chicago, Ill., President Barack Obama graced television screens again for one of his last interviews as commander-in-chief. On Sunday (Jan. 15), Obama sat down with journalist Steve Kroft of 60 Minutes to take a look back at his unforgettable imprint in history, and a look forward at the incoming president, Donald Trump.

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During the conversation, Obama remained candid on what shocked him the most about his job. “I was surprised and continue to be surprised by the severity of partisanship in this town,” he said. “And I think that I’d been warned about it. You’ll remember, in the campaign back in 2007, 2008, people would say, “Oh, he’s being naïve. He thinks that there’s no red states and blue states. And wait until he gets here.” And I will confess that, I didn’t fully appreciate the ways in which individual senators or members of Congress now are pushed to the extremes by their voter bases. I did not expect, particularly in the midst of crisis, just how severe that partisanship would be.”

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He later discussed Trump’s impending presidency, and asked Americans not to “underestimate” him. “The one thing I’ve said to him directly, and I would advise my Republican friends in Congress and supporters around the country is just make sure that as we go forward, certain norms, certain institutional traditions don’t get eroded because there’s a reason they’re in place.”