The countdown to President Barack Obama’s final day in office is on and so the date for his farewell address is set.
Next Tuesday (January 10) in his hometown of Chicago, Obama will deliver a speech, his closing argument on his accomplishments and legacy in the uneven light of President-elect Trump’s impending tenure. With Trump’s tweets and rhetoric promising repudiation or overhaul of key Obama policy pieces like the Affordable Care Act and key international relationships with the likes of Russia, China, and the European Union, expect Obama to put some mustard on this one.
Obama’s speech will be livestreamed on the White House’s official website and Facebook account, but if you want to go, tickets will be available to the public and distributed this Saturday (January 7) in McCormick Park, the site of Tuesday’s speech. There’s a one-ticket-per-person limit, first come-first served. The White House says that casual attire for the event is “fine,” so feel free to look as cool as you like.
(If you get a ticket, let me know—@amritsingh—maybe you could be our reporter for the day.)
Meanwhile, President Obama’s successor has finally set a date for his first press conference since winning the election. Yesterday, Trump tweeted:
As both a candidate and now as President-elect, Trump has been unusually reticent to hold press conferences. His last was during the summer on July 27. (That’s the one where he called on Russia to hack Hillary’s emails.)
So, why now? Well, it could be that Trump is turning over a new leaf toward transparency and a more collegial relationship with a media that has both battled (and profited from) his ascent. Or it could be that this date gives him an immediate platform to respond to Obama’s speech the day before.
We’ll just have to watch to find out.