supreme court does not just become one more extension of our polarized politics. if and when that happens, our system is not going to work. it's not that the supreme court or any of our courts can be hermetically saled from the rest of our society. these are human beings. they need the newspapers. they have opinions and values, but our goal is to have them be objective, and be able to execute their duties in a way that gives everybody, both the winning party and the losing party in any given case a sense that they were treated fairly. in that depends on a process of selecting and confirming judges that is perceived as fair, and -- and my hope is, is that cooler heads will pr

pree -- prevail and a decision will be made. >> whenever a president and prime minister sit down to engage on important issues of relevance to our peoples is that the relationship, the friendship between our two countries going far beyond any two individuals or any eye dideologies. i have tremendous confidence in the american people and look forward to working with whomever they choose to send to this white house later this year. >> alex? >> reporter: good morning. this meeting is happening at a unique point in canada-u.s. relationship. president obama you have very little time left here. prime minister trudeau you have several years to think about and work on canada's most important relationship. so i would like to ask you a

longer-term question, maybe to lay down some markers, about big ideas, big things that you think the two countries could achieve in the coming years, and whether those things might include something like a common market, that would allow goods and services and workers to flow more freely across our border. and you have had a chance to observe each other's election campaigns. and i would like to ask about your impression of president obama and his potential legacy, and about prime minister trudeau's potential, and if you could answer in french, bonus points to either of you. [ laughter ] >> thank you, alex. first of all we very much did engage on big issues throughout our conversations and throughout our hard work this morning, and over the months leading up to

this meeting today. issues that are of import not just to all of our citizens, but to the entire world. whether it's how we ensure that there is no contradiction between a strong economy and a protected environment. understand how we need to work together as individual countries and as a planet to address the challenges of climate change, how we continue to seek to ensure security for our citizens here at home, but also create stability and opportunity and health security for people around the world facing dan pemices, and violence, and issues. these are big issues that canada and the u.s. have always been engaged in over the past decades and centuries, and indeed will continue to. one of the things we highlight

is the fact that we have different scales, different perspectives on similar issues, and on shared values is actually a benefit, in that we can compment each other. so i look forward to many, many, many more years of a tremendous and responsible and effective friendship and collaboration between our two countries. [ speaking french ] >> translator: [ inaudible ] the most vulnerable population, canada and the united states are lucky countries [ inaudible ] will always have a lot to do in

order to -- to gather the world, and this is what we're going to keep on doing in the years and the decades to come, and we hope in the centuries to come. about president obama, i have learned a lot from him. he is somebody who is a deep thinker, somebody with a big heart, but also a big brain, and for me to be able to count on a friend who has lived through many of the things that i'm about to encounter on the political stage, and international stage, it's a great comfort to me. and it is always greet have people that you can trust, people that you can count on personally, especially when you are facing very big challenges, such as we are doing right now in the united states and canada. >> always pleased to hear from

president obama how he has engaged with a difficult issues of the past, because he is a man of both tremendous heart and tremendous intellect, and being able to draw on his experience and his wisdom as i face the very real challenges that our countries, and indeed our world will be facing in the coming here -- years is something i appreciate deeply about my friend barack. >> well, alex, was it? let me just note first of all that the tenor of your question seems to imply that i'm old and creeky. [ laughter ] >> reporter: not the tenor of my answer, i hope? >> no, you have managed it well, but don't think i didn't catch that. but it is true, as i said before, i indicated to him that if in fact, you plan to keep

your -- your dark hair, then you have to start dyeing it early. you hit a certain point, it's too late, you'll be caught, so -- but, look, i think justin and his delegation, because one of the things we learn very rapidly is that this is a team effort, not a solo act, they are bringing the right values, enormous energy, enormous passion and commitment to their work, and perhaps most importantly, it's clear that they are keenly interested in engaging canadian citizens in the process of solving problems, and i think that's how democracies are supposed to work, and their instincts are sound, and that's reflected in the positive response to the work that they have done so far,

and i think that will carry them so far in justin's talent and concern for the canadian people, and his appreciation of the vital role that canada can play in the larger world is self apparent. he is, i think, going to do a great job. we're looking forward to partnering with him, and we're glad to have him and his team as a partner. to some degree you don't fix what is not broken, and the relationship is extraordinary and doesn't, i don't think, need some set of revolutionary concepts. what it does require is not taking the relationship for granted. it was require steady effort and perhaps most importantly, it

requires because we have so much in common, that we recognize on the big looming issues on the horizon, it is vital for us to work together because the more aligned we are, the more we can shape the international agenda to meet these challenges. climate change is such an example. there are countries that will be hurt worse by it, in some ways, canada and the united states as wealthier countries, can probably adapt and manage better, however, we are also those responsible for a lot of the carbon pollution that is cause climate change.

if we don't pool our research that is required to solve this problem, then other countries won't step up, and it won't get solved. that's a big idea. with respect to the economy, one of the things that canada and the united states share is a commitment to a free market. i believe and i know justin does as well, that a market-based economy not only has proven to be the greatest engine for prosperity the world has ever known, but also underwrites our individual freedoms in many ways, and we value our business sector and we value entrepreneurship, but what we're seeing across the developed world, and this will have manifestations in the developing

world is the need for more inclusion in growth, making sure that it's brood-based, making sure that people are not left behind in a globalized economy, and that's a big idea for the united states and canada to work together on, along with our other partners. if we don't get this right, if we do not make sure that the average canadian, or the average american has confidence that the fruits of their labor, their -- the -- the opportunities for their children are going to continue to expand over time, if they see societies in which a very few are going better and better, and the middle class and working people are falling further and further

behind, that destabilizes the economy. it makes it less efficient. it makes itless rapid in its growth, but it also starts destabilizing our politics in -- and our democracies, and -- and so working together to find effective ways, not to close off boarders, not to pretend that somehow we can shut off trade, not to forget that we ourselves are nations of immigrants and that diversity is our strength, but rather to say, yeah, the world is big, and we are going to help shape it, and we're going to value our openness, and our diversity, and the fact that we are leaders in a global supply chain, but we're going to do so in ways to make

sure everybody benefits. that's important work that we are going to have to do together, and i know justin shares that commitment just as i do. margaret brenner. >> reporter: thank you, mr. president, some of your critics have pointed to the incredibly polarized political climate as contributing to the rise as someone as provacative as donald trump. do you feel responsibility for that? or even some of the protectionist rhetoric from some democratic candidates? do you have a time line for when you might make a presidential endorsement? and do you feel political heat is constraining your pool of viable supreme court nominees. >> that's a three-fer. i think it's important for me to nominate a supreme court nominee

quickly, because i think it's important for the supreme court to have its full compliment of justices. i don't feel constrained in terms of the pool to draw from, or that i'm having to take shortcuts in terms of the selection and vetting process. with respect to your first question, i have heard this argument a number of times. i -- i -- i have -- i have been blamed by republicans for a lot of things, but being blamed for their primaries and who they are selecting for their party is novel. [ laughter ] >> look, i -- i have said -- i said it at the state of the union, that one of my regrets is the degree to which polarization

and the nasty tone of our politics has accelerated rather than waned over the course of the last seven and a half years, and i do all kinds of soul searching in terms of are there things i can do better to make sure we're unifying the country? but i also have to say, margaret, that objectively, it's fair to say that -- that the republican political elites and many of the information outlets, social media, news outlets, talk radio, television stations have been feeding the republican base for the last seven years a notion that everything i do is

to be opposed; that cooperation or compromise somehow is a betrayal; that maximalist, absolutist positions on issues are politically advantageous; that there is a them out there, and an us, and them are the folks that are causing whatever problems you are experiencing, and the tone of that politics, which i certainly have not contributed to. i have not -- you know, i don't think that i was the one to prompt questions about my birth certificate, for example. i don't remember, saying, hey, why don't you ask me about that?

[ laughter ] >> you know, why don't you, you know, question whether i'm american or -- or whether i'm loyal or whether i have american's best interests at heart. those aren't things that were prompted by any actions on mine, and so what you are seeing within the republican party is -- is to some degree all of those efforts over a course of time creating an environment where somebody like a donald trump can thrive. you know, he -- he is just doing more of what has been done for the last seven and a half years. and in fact in terms of his positions on a whole range of issues, they are not very different from any the other consolidates.

there is not a mass i difference between mr. trump's position on immigration, and mr. cruz's position. or that different from mr. rubio's positions on immigration. despite the fact that both mr. cruz, and mr. rubio, their own families are the product of immigration and the openness of our society. so i am more than happy to own the responsibility as president, as the only office holder who is elected by all of the american people to continue to make efforts to bridge divides and help us find common ground. as i have said before, i think that common ground exists all across the country. you see it every day in how people work

together and live together and play together and raise their kids together. but what i'm not going to do is to validate some notion that the republican crackup that has been taking place is -- is a consequence of actions that i have taken. and i -- i -- what is interesting -- i'll just say one last thing about this. there are thoughtful conservatives who are troubled by this, who are troubled by the direction of their party. i think it is very important for them to reflect on what it is about the politics they have engaged in that allows the circus we have been seeing to transpire, and -- and to do some

introspection. because ultimately, i want a -- an effective republican party. i think this country has to have responsible parties can govern and that are prepared to lead and govern, whether they are in the minority or the imagine your drj majority, whether they occupy the white house or not. and i have often said i want a serious republican party in part to challenge some of the dogmas in the democratic party. i think that's useful. you mentioned trade, for example. i -- i believe that there have been bad trade deals on occasion in the past that oftentimes they have served the interests of

global corporations but not necessarily served the interest of workers, but i'm absolutely persuaded that we cannot put up walls around a global economy and that to -- to sell a bill of goods to the american people and workers that if you just shut down trade somehow your problems would go away prevents us from actually solving some of these big problems about inequality and the decline of our manufacturing base and so on. and that's an area where some traditional conservatives and economists have had some important incites, but they can't be presented effectively if it's -- if it's combined with

no interest in helping workers, and busting up unions, and providing tax breaks to the wealthy, rather than providing help to folks who are working hard and trying to pay the bills, and certainly is not going to be heard if it's coupled with viement anti-immigrant sentiment that betrays our values. okay. >> reporter: [ inaudible ]? >> i think that the democratic voters are doing just fine working this out. i think it's useful that we have had a vigorous debate among two good people who care deeply about our country, and who, you know, have fought hard on behalf of working people in this country for a long time. i think it's been a good conversation, and my -- my most

important role will be to make sure that after primaries are done, i'm bringing everybody together so that we focus on winning the general election. >> reporter: mr. president i'll be asking my question in french, but i'll repeat it in english afterwards. >> translator: mr. trudeau has not talked about [ inaudible ] it's a major problem. have you thought about solutions to avoid the conflict reopened [ inaudible ] and you signed several agreements trade environment, but what can you do so that the implementation survive the federal election, and that all of this has to be restarted a year from now.

>> software lumber which has been looming, and to what extent is the fear of losing seats for the democrats do to the issue hampering progress on this. and that being said, you have signed a number of agreements on a number of issues. what can be done for this progress not to be lost with the arrival of a new administration, and have everything have to be started all over again. >> translator: we have showed what is at stake, a lot is at stake, and we hope that this is going to be solved shortly to help enormously, not only canadian workers and the canadian economy, but the

economy of [ inaudible ] countries, and among these discussions, we -- of course we raise the question of soft wood lumber. we keep on working on that. and i'm totally confident that we are on the right trek towards a solution in the next weeks and months to come. now in terms of the decisions that we have taken, and the work we have done today, i'm extremely confident that what we have managed to achieve, the agreement that we have taken, and the solutions that we have found for the problems that we face together, i'm confident that all of this is going to become a reality, because at every stage, not only we're talking about what is good for one side or the other side, but we're talking about what is good for both countries. our economies are so intervowov,

that we are going to having a agreement, for instance, that we'll facilitate crossing of boarders while increasing security of our citizens. this is good for both sides, and it is where we worked so hard together. with a lot of progress and a lot of success today. >> we discussed and worked on many different issues over the course of an extremely productive meeting this morning. issues that have been worked on intensely by our respective friends, colleagues, and delegations over the past weeks and months, and certainly soft wood lumber came up, and i'm confident that we are on a track towards resolving this irritant

in the coming weeks and -- and months. but in general, the issues that we made tremendous progress on, i'm extremely confident will move forward in a rapid and appropriate fashion because we found such brood agreement on issues -- our two countries, but indeed both of our countries, the canadians and americans for their jobs, for our kids and their futures, for workers, businesses, as we tackle challenges on the economy, challenges on the environment and underthat working together in constructive, productive ways is exactly what this relationship, and indeed this friendship is all about. so i'm feeling extremely good about the hard work that was done this morning, and indeed,

about the work remaining to do over the coming weeks and months on the issues we brought forward today. >> this issue with soft wood lumber will get resolved in some fashion. our teams are already making progress on it. it has been a long-standing bilateral irritant, but hardly defines the nature of the u.s.-canadian relationship, and we have some very smart people. they'll find a way to resolve it. undoubtedly, to the dissatisfaction of all parties concerned, because that's the nature of these kinds of things, right? each side will want 100%, and we'll find a way for each side to get 60% or so of what they

need, and people will complain and grumble, but it will -- it will be fine. and -- and in terms of -- of continuity, one thing that i will say, this is an area that i'll play the elder statesman, as alex described me, and as somebody who came in after an administration that politically, obviously saw things very differently than i did, you know, what you discover is that for all of the differences you may have in your political parties, when you are actually in charge, then you have to be

practical, and you do what is needed to be done and what is in front of you, and one of the things that is important for the united states or for canada, or for any leading power in the world, is to live up to its commitments, and to provide continuing momentum on efforts even if they didn't start under your administration. so there are a whole host of initiatives that began under the bush administration. some that i was very enthusiastic about, like pep-far that has saved millions of lives and prevented hiv aids or provided vital drugs to those already infected with hiv aids in africa and other parts of