individual liberties. i'm talking about the structure of our government and the need to rein in executive agencies and the need to return some structural balance between washington and the state government. i think those are a few of the big differences you have seen over the last few years. as we have been in the wilderness for eight years. irrespective of donald trump's victory in this election year. >> eu say your party is more based on ideas? i remember you canvassed 100 republicans, about 99 of them did not know anything about health care policy for instance. sen. cotton: when you're the party out of power, all you have is the power of ideas. you can i get up, you can't award contracts. you don't have patronage the way you appeal to parties. the way you appeal to voters is the power of your ideas. i think it is fair to say that over the last eight years in the obama administration, our ideas have one. if you look at the results from 2010 and 2014, and now 2016, you also have a lot of new, young thinkers coming into the party who are eager to move beyond

some of the old, stale dogmas. realizing that ronald reagan was a great leader, uninspiring -- ronald reagan was a great leader, an inspiring leader, but if you are like today, he would say the problems of 1980 are not the problem of 2016. >> you have defined what the new generation in congress looks like. now we have done trump, who does not look like that in many ways. i know you have spent a lot of time out with voters on the ground. do you think donald trump is changing the republican party, or is he a response to change to voters? is the conservative movement on the ground changing?

sen. cotton: he is both. most successful presidential candidates are both. they sometimes see things that are true that too many politicians, elites in culture and business, but also presidential candidates who succeed, they take their parties in different directions as well. it is a little bit of both. some of the things donald trump has seen is that down in places like arkansas arts and the places i campaigned in the last month. indiana, wisconsin, iowa, pennsylvania. there are a lot of people that feel ill-served by washington, d.c. they feel ill-served by the policies that have been implemented under the obama administration, or some of the policies that you had bipartisan but in my opinion wrong consensus on like immigration. donald trump was speaking to their practical concerns. it is not surprising donald trump what into economically distressed areas in places like pennsylvania and ohio and wisconsin and said i'm going to bring jobs back to you. hillary clinton did not go there. if she did go there, she would say i'm going to bring you more obamacare and mass immigration. it's not surprising what the result of that election were.

>> you said you spent time in the upper midwest and you were not surprised at all by the vote total. sen. cotton: my wife's family is spread of the upper midwest and minnesota and wisconsin and iowa, so i got to know a lot of folks there and i campaigned there. in all three of the states recently. i was not surprised to see the trend of those states moving in our direction, and part because i feel they feel somewhat estranged from some of the elite consensus that they see in our various capitals. our business capital in new york, cultural capital in los angeles, little capital in washington. they can like washington policies have not been benefiting them. they wanted a leader who actually spoke to those

practical concerns, not one who spoke to airy abstractions. >> what does that mean at the end, especially for the people in this audience and some of the big issues they care about? i'm sure donald trump is giving them a bit of a heartburn. these are things you have been sending a lot of time on in the senate. take trade. what are we going to see, and how does the senate work with donald trump on this issue given what he has said -- pulling out of nafta and abandoning in general what has long been an american pro-trade agenda? sen. cotton: i will leave the details of trade policy to donald trump very i will say that sometimes, the expressions in the media of his opposition to trade are overstated. to my knowledge, donald trump has never said he is opposed to trade. if it's a lot of our trade deals have been bad for the u.s. if you compare some of the promises that were made and the last 15-25 years about these trade deals -- i would also point out that the promises that were made under these trade

deals about economic impacts that it would have in the united states in terms of jobs created or economic growth simply did not pan out. you can debate why that happened, but that fact is if you are listening to politicians who are selling those deals and look at the results, there is a mismatch between rhetoric and results. >> you don't deny to have been generally good? sen. cotton: that happens sometimes. [laughter] >> you oversell? cotton:: i try not to oversell. that is why so many people are disappointed with politicians in washington. they consistently do overpromise and under deliver. i would say in the day after british citizens voted to leave the european union, donald trump was in scotland where he has a golf course. he was celebrating the so-called brexit vote. he said we need to have a trade deal with the u.k. .t does not surprise me

he is not opposed to trade deals, he wants better trade deals. is going to have the opportunity to get better trade deals, whether it is we go to -- renegotiating deals like nafta. when the trade that when we passed trade promotion authority, it was for six years. that was in no small part because we wanted a new republican president to have the authority to negotiate deals for the united states. shortly after the brexit vote, in keeping with what donald trump said that we would give great britain the terms of all trade agreements that we had with the european union. i thought that was frankly appalling that so many european leaders from the continent and barack obama had implicitly or explicitly and the citizens of great britain with punishment if -- implicitly or explicitly threatened the citizens of great britain with punishment if they voted to leave the european union. i'm not a british citizen, i never expressed an opinion on it and that is their choice, their sovereign people. but, we should not be threatening our closest ally in europe for making that kind of decision. that said, i would expect -- and i would hope any agreement we have with a country that has an

1/9 thethat is 1-8 or we would have an agreement that would benefit us. because of the size of our economy and the security guarantees we provide around the world, it is a little disappointing to a lot of people that are trade deals often do not match the record behind them. >> is a suggestion being that may be going forward, what you will see in american trade policy other donald trump and under a republican congress is one in which you have a country by country trade deal, at a distinction between developed countries and developing countries? sen. cotton: bilateral deals are easier to negotiate than multilateral once -- ones. you can consummate them quickly. i think donald trump will pursue some of those. if he pursues multilateral deals like the transpacific partnership, which the obama administration has admitted as

written will not pass. there are a lot of issues that he should revisit like the treatment of biologics, or the treatment of intellectual property. when you look at the terms of trade deals, they are traditionally focused primarily on things like reducing tariffs and reducing quotas, or maybe internal subsidies. increasingly, trade deals -- not just ours, but around the world, have focused more on what they call regulatory harmonization, which normal americans would call laws. and they elect people like me to make those laws. they do not elect bureaucrats in brussels or the wto to make them. that was one of the big issues that drove the vote in great britain. it was immigration and it was surrendering authority over their day-to-day lives to brussels.

when you talk about reducing tariffs on goods, that is one thing. when brussels is dictating the size of olive oil decanters that can be on a restaurant table in london, that is another thing. why should a people surrender those kind of decisions to an unelected authority outside of their own boundaries? >> you said that what you took out donald trump's comments on brexit was that he is not opposed to trade. what about this idea of slapping tariffs on companies that move to other countries? sen. cotton: i will let him speak about specific details. he spoke about them throw the campaign in very ways. i think the best thing we can do for those companies that are looking to move jobs overseas is to make america a more attractive place for those jobs. to reduce our taxes, because our business is now pay higher taxes than any other country in the industrialized world. when you're in industrial giant like general electric, it is true if you're one of the businesses in arkansas that is taxed as a pass-through that makes up two thirds or two quarters of our businesses. not just strict relations that he did change, like the fiduciary advisory role or the overtime role, but the ways these agencies rate -- right regulations to begin with so little democratic accountability from congress. that is the way we focus on both keeping jobs here in the u.s. and increasingly bringing jobs

back into the united dates. -- the united states. >> i would take a second to bring up our audience poll. they get to weigh in on a thought. and we will bring it up. if it comes. nope. well, i can tell you what it says. is that in two years time, will , the gop look more like the party of paul ryan or the party of donald trump? and while you think about that sen. cotton: 190 want to buy is the jury so i will -- sen. cotton:: i do not want to -- jury, so i will

opine afterwards. >> another thing you looked at in the senate is immigration. that is another potential area in which republicans in congress and donald trump may have different views. what do you think are the views in which you agree, disagree, and more importantly, do you think so much attention has been focused on some of the big items that he says he will pursue? what are the prospects for a comprehensive immigration reform? sen. cotton: that is washington immigration. i hope that we will address this very early in a sweeping fashion, because our immigration system has badly needed change for a long time. this really was the signature issue for donald trump in the primary and in the general election. this is where he most differentiated himself from other republicans who were on that stage with him. this is an area where he saw things that were right and true and so many other republicans

tested. for years, for decades going back to 1986, there has been a bipartisan consensus in washington that all immigration reform should look like what i just described. or what the 1986 bill look like, which is amnesty for immigrants here today, followed by enforcement lately -- enforcement later. you get the embassy immediately, you don't get the enforcement, because congress loses the will for it and the bureaucracy slow roles it. and the courts and join it. you get the increases of legal immigration, which is why you have seen stagnant wages in so many fields for so long. as donald trump said repeatedly. start with enforcement, build a wall or a fence or some kind of physical barrier, not drones and sensors and other things that are shiny and politics like to talk about. get serious about enforcing immigration law and all the other ways as well, like having a functioning, with workable employment verification system for american businesses. having a system to track these is -- visas, because about a third illegal immigrants came here legally with a visa. those are the table stakes. the big focus needs to come on legal immigration.

our legal immigration system sickly does not serve the interest of american workers. we let into this country about one million green cold does green card holders everything will year. we've done that about 50 years going back to 1965. of that million, only 140,000 of them are admitted because of their job or their skills or economic background. 14%. in that 40% of people like lawyers. i do not think we need to give preferences to lawyers coming into the united states. you could immediately refocused regard admissions on spouses, minor children, because we are profamily. we went to see nuclear families reunited. keep those 140,000 minus the lawyers. [laughter]

keep a refugee program that can be fully vested. you could cut green card admissions down to 500,000 overnight. you have a whole group of guestworker programs that have several million people working on them. many of them in unskilled and low skilled jobs. there is no sign that we have a shortage of that kind in the united states. if you look at research in the census data, in almost every sector and in every job, the job is held by majority of us-born workers. that means, contrary to popular opinion, there are no jobs that u.s. workers will not do. there are no jobs that u.s. workers will not do. to me, that is an elitist and snobbish viewpoint. furthermore, in those jobs they have not had pay raises. the hospitality industry, the construction industry. they have not had pay raises in many years.

according to census data. i am not an econ phd. i think when there is a shortage of something, the price is supposed to increase. it simply has not. we have needs. if you live in rural canada, like rural arkansas, you find a lot of doctors who come from overseas because we have needs that evidence shows we need to meet with highly skilled immigration. like computer scientists who are going to some of our best schools. or doctors, nobel prize winners, engineers and we have high skilled or ultrahigh skilled needs. but we need to focus our immigration system on those needs and skills, not on the policies we have had in place for 50 years. >> there is the answer up there. sen. cotton: that is wrong. it will be the party of donald trump in two years. the president leads his party. in 2000, the party was not the party of denny hastert, it was the party of george bush. the democratic party was not

deep party of harry reid or nancy pelosi, it was the party of barack obama. >> hi, i'm ceo trusted media brands, former reader's digest association. one question is about your transformation from a democratic family to a republican in knowing that you came from a democratic background pattern i'm a republican, how do you think this country will work together better on behalf of the people? sen. cotton: to be clear, my father was a democrat and i was the election sheep in the family. i was a republican from the beginning. i was 15-years-old when bill clinton was elected president. i couldn't believe my governor was about to be president. i thought i couldn't believe what my governor's doing as president. i must be a republican. and, you know, i mean, my parents don't tell me how they vote, but i suspect my father, for instance, may have voted for

al gore in 1988, the clintons for the 90's, and john kerry in 2004. he was a vietnam veteran. he always favored veterans who ran for office. but eight years ago, arkansas had virtually no elected republicans. we had one member of congress that had held a seat for about 50 years. and then you know all seven , states -- state offices were democratic. all five remaining seats were democratic. two thirds of the state house and state senate are -- were democratic as well. today, at the end of the obama era, all six members of congress are republican, all seven statewide officeholders are republican, three quarters of both the state house and state than it are republican. it is the result of the obama era and the policies of the did not work for gones like organon, -- or , or places like

michigan and wisconsin and minnesota and iowa and ohio and pennsylvania and you have a lot of barack obama voters in 2008 who became donald trump voters in those areas. maybe a third of the counties i read that voted for barack obama went for donald trump this time around. that is because they did not deliver on the promises they made in 2008. >> thank you senator for your service. that was very insightful. in your vision of this new republican party, i would like to hear a little more about if it is going to be an inclusive vision, which is the vision of where that when he first century is going to be. story fors of this the century will be inclusive

societies and could you elaborate a bit? sen. cotton: absolutely great you are the same thing from donald trump on election night, you heard it in the speeches he was making in the last month or two of the campaign. i understand some of his rhetoric was hard-edged through the campaign, but he consistently campaigned on they do present for all americans, and being there president as americans. the democratic party has been practicing identity politics for many years. they appealed to the sector of the polity on that issue and micro targets is the term we use. what donald trump did was what the republicans have done best when we have succeeded as we did with george w. bush and ronald reagan is appeal to voters as americans. not based on their race or ethnicity or the class, but appeal to them as american. you know, that is, for instance, one of the reason that is why think donald trump did better with hispanic voters in arizona that mitt romney did. quite a bit better. and it is because he was not appealing to them as hispanic americans, he was appealing to them as american. they are people who have been hurt the same way midwest voters have been hurt by some of the field policies of the last eight years. so, i was pleased to see donald trump grew our share of the hispanic and african-american vote. i hope we continue to grow that.

the way we will continue to grow that is to appeal to all americans. we are never going to out identity politics the democratic party, nor should we try. i don't think that is a healthy thing and a large, multicultural, multiethnic democracy. which you can see here not just in the united states, but in some of our allies around the world who struggle with those tensions as well. >> you are from a part of the country that blue dog democrats were from. your thoughts now with senator harry reid gone and the ability for republicans -- particularly moderate republicans -- to reach across the aisle to more moderate democrats. when you think the thoughts are that with the margin in the house and senate? sen. cotton: i'm happy harry reid is gone. also, i'm looking forward to working with chuck schumer. chuck and i have worked together on legislation before, like the 9/11 first responder bill. i was one of the first main

republicans to sponsor that bill. i thought it was the right thing to do. some of the concerns of my more conservative colleagues were misplaced on it. i've talked to chuck since the election about working together. joe manchin is the senior democrat on a subcommittee that i chair. are eager to work together hand we have a lot of democrats who are up in states that donald trump won. i suspect they would like to work with us as well. they represent states like missouri that is pretty similar to arkansas. they have similar concerns of the people i serve. we're looking forward i hope to moving some legislation that is long overdue that addresses some of these colleges we have had for a long time, with barack obama, but especially harry reid, has been frozen in congress. >> thank you very much.

>> thank you all. [applause] ♪. c-span's washington journal, live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. coming up sunday morning, network chief counsel and director will be on to talk about the election that of donald trump and the effect on the supreme court. francis burwell of the atlantic council world discuss trans-atlantic relations and a chop presidency, the future of nato, and economic policy. be sure to watch c-span's washington journal sunday at some :00 a.m.. join -- at 7:00 a.m. eastern. discussion. >> as donald trump becomes the

45th president of the united states and republican maintains control of the house and senate, we will take into key events as they happen. what's live at c-span, watch at c-span.com. or listen on our radio app. next, president obama takes questions during a town hall in lima, peru. after that, supreme court justice sonia sotomayor talks about the late justice antonin scalia and life on the court. and then kevin brady discusses trade policy and economic growth. [applause] >> now, president obama takes part in a town hall meeting in lima, peru, where he is attending the economic cooperation meetings. this is about one hour hand 15 minutes.

[applause] >> we should not waste our time. i admire.one and follow his example of service to others. mr. president, thank you for being a dreamer that believes in a young people and provides big opportunities like the american initiative. for younger leaders. [applause] >> so -- [applause] welcoming to the united states the mr. president. ] aughter and applause

president obama: thank you. hola, peru! muchas gracias. thank you so much. thank you. everybody, please have a seat. thank you, cynthia feher kind -- cynthia are your kind words and your great work here in peru and bringing people together across generations to meet challenges. please give cynthia a round of applause. [applause] president obama: it is wonderful to be here and i want to thank everybody at catholic university of peru for hosting us. applause] president obama: i want to thank the government and the beautiful people of this country for your hospitality. >> i love you. president obama: i love you too. [cheers and applause]

president obama: while i am here i am hoping to enjoy some good food. [speaking spanish] [cheers] pres. obama: [speaking spanish] but i will not be attempting arena -- the [speaking spanish] because i usually leave the dancing to my wife. i want to thank you for being here, the young leaders of america, for being here and representing every country in latin america and the caribbean. now this is my final stop on my , final trip abroad. as president of the united states. and i have had the usual meetings with world leaders and we have done important business, but whenever i travel, one thing i have been trying to do is to meet with young people.

first of all, young people are more fun than old people. second, because today more than half of the world population is 30 or younger. and that means your generation will determine the course of our future as individual nations and as a global community. iw, the good news is because have had a chance to meet so many young people it has made me very optimistic to know that you will be in charge. that is why i wanted my last public event abroad to be with you. i often say to the young people in my own country, if you had to be born at any time in history, it would be right now. if you think about all the progress made, not just in your your lifetimes, but even in the last few years.

fewer people than ever around the world live in extreme poverty, scientific xers are paving the way to cure diseases. more children are going to school, more girls in particular going to school been ever before. people across the world are securing their human rights and technology has reshaped the world, because you can't tell -- and it you can tell because everybody has their phones. at a time where the earth is more populated with cell phones man people, you have power to connect across borders, across nations, you have the tools to solve problems that we could not even imagine when i was your age. now, even as we make all of these important strides in advancing the rights of more people, even as technology brings us closer together, this unprecedented change also brings challenges.

we see it in the widening gap between rich and poor around the world, we see it in the forces of extremism and division that too often tear communities are part. -- tear communities apart. so the question for all of us is, how can we make sure in this changing world, that nobody is left behind and all of us are stronger and more prosperous? over the last eight years i have worked to strengthen our relationship with the americas, we are more than neighbors, we are linked by trade and culture and family and values.

our students study in each other's countries come are taurus -- tourists travel back and forth and we've moved beyond the old arguments to create a new vision, one that your generation, which is liberated, can lead. during my presidency we committed ourselves to the region and to the partnerships with your country with mutual respect and we increased trade and a stood up for democracy and human rights, fought against corruption, we have promoted clean energy and led the global fight against climate change. we opened a new relationship with cuba. i strongly believe that this work has to be done with governments, but it is more important that it is done by people. because government is important, but it cannot solve every problem. we half to work together at the people level, teachers, doctors, students, entrepreneurs, and religious leaders, all all trying to find ways in which we can find it is values of dignity, humanity, and respect

that so often that are threatened. and that is why we developed this young leaders initiative. our goal is to find the most innovative young entrepreneurs. energetic civil society leaders like you, and help empower you with training and tools and connections come as a you can make a difference in your communities and your countries. this network already has 20,000 people and this fall we welcome the first class of 250 fellows to the united states. [applause] president obama: this is just 100 of them. they are from every country across the americas. [applause] --s. obama: we want to help

so, we want to help this generation, help with grants, skills training. today i am announcing the longevity latin american and caribbean society innovation hub, a way to connect civil society organizations across the nation so you can support each other. we are investing $40 million into the talents and entrepreneurship of young people across the caribbean, to help you start your own businesses and we are helping with the global exchange, so you can showcase your new enterprise to people around the world. and that way you can connect and hopefully get resources that you otherwise did not have. and we are moving ahead with partnerships, like the 100,000 strong in the americas. by the end of the decade, we want 100,000 u.s. students studying in the americas and 100,000 from the americas study

in the united states. [applause] president obama: and we are announcing a partnership between the u.s. department of state and latin america's development bank to fund the first development competition exclusively between peruvian and u.s. colleges and universities, so students can come together to work on climate change and environmental science. [applause] president obama: we are focused on the hemisphere and the region, but it is more than just north america, south america, you are part of a global network from africa, southeast asia, europe and the americas, that are doing amazing work.

and while my time as u.s. president is coming to an end, this is just beginning. we need you to stay connected, work together, learn from each other, so we can build the next generation that can take on challenges like climate change and poverty and help grow our economies. make sure women get opportunities. [applause] president obama: make sure that every child, wherever they live, has a chance to build something, to build a good life. i will give you some examples of the amazing people that are involved in this process. we need leaders like dr. valerie. as a young doctor, she saw firsthand how issues like a cute

-- acute malnutrition and hunger hurt the children in this country. so he and a team of social workers started a team called a diagnostic group, focused on health care for abandoned children at the largest pediatric hospital in haiti. goal is for the group to become the standard for pediatric care. and expand to reach even more children across haiti. so thank you for the great work you are doing. [applause] [cheers and applause] president obama: we need leaders like abigail. abigail, are you here? [applause] president obama: after struggling to find her own grandfather home care, she realized that it was a problem for some many other families so

she started an agency for home care. she started it as a service for families to take care of their loved ones, but now it is a social movement that provides job opportunities for women in the health care industry. so thank you for the great work you are doing. [applause] president obama: you already heard the great work that cynthia is doing in peru, across the world and across the americas, young people taking the lead. are seeing problems, they are seeing in justice, and they are taking the lead. the main message i want you to know is that you have a partner in me and in the united states government. and we will work together. [applause]

[cheers] president obama: we are going to work together. we expect the fellowship to continue, but i want you to know that i will continue to be involved, even after i am president, because i want to make sure that we continue to invest in your success. if you succeed, not only does your country succeed, but the world succeeds. and i am very excited to see the great things you will do in the future. let's take some questions. i am going to take off my jacket, because it is a little hot. [cheers] president obama: so. i was not trying to get a cheer out of that. but -- [laughter] just obama: can somebody rub this? thank you. thank you, mike. we will start with a question from this gentleman right here.

please introduce yourself. hold on, the microphone is not working. not yet. do we have a second microphone? testing. one-to-three. hold on, here is the technical expert. here we go. there is another one. not yet. uh-oh. uh-oh. here we go. we will try this one. one of these will work. >> testing. president obama: there you go. [applause] >> good afternoon. i am from caracas, venezuela. we are working on the first records platform for latin america and i am a proud member of the fellows. i am here to read a question from our network.

there were 200 questions on facebook. so carlos from venezuela asks, in venezuela, there is a debate on what matters most, p sort democracy. democracy? how can we create a world where we do not have to choose between them? both are important. president obama: that is a great question and a timely question, because i think that after a decade in which we have seen more and more countries adopt democratic practices, you are now starting to see some of those gains reversed. you are seeing countries going backwards, rather than forward in terms of freedom of the press, freedom of the internet, in terms of respecting political opposition and civil society.

and there are those that argue argueere are those who that democracy is incompatible with development because you need order. you need somebody from the top to tell people what to do in order to achieve. and i would just suggest that you look at the evidence over the last 20-40 years. those countries that pursue democracy, transparency, where the leaders are held accountable, those are the countries that are doing best. those countries that are repressive, that do not respect democracy, that silences critics, they go backwards economically.

it makes sense, because in this time that we live in, development is based on knowledge and innovation and education and new thinking and sharing of ideas. it is not based on how much land you have, the natural resources, it is based on people. and, in a democracy what we are throughdo is people, the freedom they enjoy, are able --create, start is this is, start businesses, start organizations, solve problems. what is also true is they are able to hold the government accountable, so when the government does not deliver for its people, if it and gauges and corruption, its policies only benefit a few rather than

the many, people can react and respond and over time, people get better policies from the government. look at what has happened on the coast here in latin america. you look at chile, peru, colombia -- all of them are growing faster and all of them are doing better because of the new openness and democracy that exists in these countries. and what is true here is true around the world. the one thing i have to say is, democracy is more than just elections. democracy is also a free press, democracy is also freedom of religion. democracy is making sure that

the rights of minorities are protected, not just the majority. --ocracy is role of law and rule of law-- and an independent judiciary. it is a matter of all of these elements coming together. but the main thing we have learned is that in this knowledge-based economy, this society, you can maintain order for a while with a nondemocratic government, but it will rot from within. over time, those governments fail and those economies fail, because when they make mistakes they try to hide them instead of solving them. when somebody has a legitimate criticism of a problem, it can be ignored because politicians do not have to answer. and eventually those societies will do much worse, often times by increasing repression as

people get more and more dissatisfied and the society breaks down. it is true that nondemocratic countries are likely to get into wars with other countries. democracies try to solve problems through diplomacy and dialogue. not only is there a contradiction, it is my belief that in order in this new economy for development to be successful, you need democracy. i will say one last thing. democracy can be frustrating, because democracy means that you do not always get 100% of what you want.

democracy means sometimes you have to compromise and it means that the outcomes of elections do not always turn out the way you would hope. then, and we are going through that in the u.s. and i am doing everything i can to facilitate a successful transition with the president elect, but as long as we keep our democratic systems open, then the society has a chance to try something new and then it can make a decision and correct problems they face in the future and progress continues. alright. let's see. [applause] president obama: you? let's get a microphone to you. so we can hear you. and introduce yourself. by the way, i apologize, my

spanish is just ok. so we are doing this in english, , but hopefully i am being clear. go ahead. >> i am very glad you are here in my country. in peru. it is an honor to be hearing this conference. my question is, what do you think about the european union coming together to promote military integration in defense after the victory of donald trump? do you think that we have global paranoia or created by the media or is it real? president obama: what is your name? [indiscernible] president obama: nice to meet you. you are a student? >> i am at a student.

[cheers] president obama: you have some classmates here. the united states is such a big country that after an election people are uncertain. i think it will be important for everybody around the world to not make the immediate judgments, but give the new president elect a chance to examine issues, to determine what their policies will be, because what i have said is the way that you campaign is not the way you will govern. sometimes when you are

campaigning, you are trying to stir up passion. when you govern, you actually have reality in front of you and you to decide, how do i make this work? the alliance between the u.s. and europe through nato is very strong. and the president elect, donald trump, has already reaffirmed our commitment to nato. we have been asking for europe to carry more of the burden of defense spending than they have been doing, because the united states spends a lot more than some of our nato partners. and they recognize and acknowledge, i think, the need for them to spend more resources on that. with respect to latin america, i do not anticipate major changes in policy from the new administration.

i think the work we have done has been successful in establishing the strongest relationships between the united states and latin america in modern history. the friendships we have established with peru, the reopening of diplomatic relations with cuba, the investments we are making in trade and environmental policy and so forth, all of those i expect to continue. there are going to be tensions that arise come up probably around trade more than anything else. because the president elect campaigned on looking at every trade policy into potentially reversing some of those policies. but once they look at how it is

working, i think they will determine it is good for the united states and its partners. there may need to be modifications, i have called for modifications in certain elements of our trading policy. when we establish the united states-peru free trade agreement, one of the requirements was for peru to strengthen their protection of labor rights, and we did that in part because with all of our trading partners, we do not want to be disadvantaged because we are dealing with labor that has no rights and so they get the lowest wages. and can be exploited. but we didn't also because that will help lift the wages and benefits and protections that workers here in peru enjoy.

is goodultimately, that for everybody. one of the things i really believe is that when you pay workers well, when ordinary people are getting a decent wage and decent benefits and it decent protections, then they have more money in their pockets and then they go out and spend the money which is good for business and everybody is utter off. so that is the kind of attitude that we want to try to promote in the years going forward. and my hope is that the policy will continue. you,y main message to though, and the message i delivered in europe is do not just assume the worst. wait until the administration is in place and is actually putting its policies together hand been you can make your judgment as to whether or not it is consistent with the international community's interest in living

in peace and asperity together. ok? [applause] president obama: alright. ok. so, what i am doing is i am going boy, girl, so everybody gets a fair chance. ok. this gentleman right here. in the purple shirt. [cheers] >> thank you very much. first of all, i just want to say thank you for being such a great world leader. your tenure i think you have truly done your best in nations of the world and make it a better place. pres. obama: thank you. where you from? >> i am from the bahamas. i am the son of two haitian immigrants and i am a human rights activist. i am also a radio talkshow host. i do advocacy work on the radio,

because it is a great form of communication and getting everybody involved. nevertheless, you spoke about youth and us shaping the future and to the direction of the world and what it will be like in the near future. i will give you a very quick example of what i experienced and a question that can apply to all of us young people. because it is a great form of perception of it you not being a native and governments have set on that over time said the average individual that you would come into contact with, they would see you in a certain light and so the opportunity exists for you to know [indiscernible]

so the opportunities to help your country are diminished. so for example, i am trying to bridge the gap between haitians and others in the bahamas. they say, you are fighting for haitians to take over the bahamas. no, i want them to live in peace. if you have the opportunity to have all of the prime ministers and presidents in one room, and you had one word of advice you could have given those leaders in regards to young people and especially millennials, what would you say to those leaders? president obama: i have had that opportunity a number of times. they don't always follow my advice. [chuckles] pres. obama: but to your broader point, look, we live in a world that is smaller than ever before your generation gets ideas ande culture and your politics from everywhere. you are listening to everything from rolling stones to, you

know, kendrick lamar to, you know, salsa, reggae tone -- [laughter] so what is true and --ic, what is true and food true in music, what is true and food is also true in politics , and ideas. the great thing about young people is that has made your identities both national but also international. people here are peruvian, but you are also people who care about what happens around this continent and around the world. it means that you can be both proud of your haitian heritage and live in the bahamas, and also be concerned about what happens in africa or what is happening in myanmar.

that is a good thing. i will be honest with you, older people sometimes are more threatened than younger people by this convergence. now that i have gray hair, i see what happens as you get older. you get set in your ways. you are afraid of things that are new. and often times, politicians can feed into that sense that everything is changing so fast, let's go back to our old identities. identities of race or tribe or nationality. and my main advice, not just to world leaders but, more importantly, world citizens, to citizens around the world, if

you are defining yourself by what you are not, just by the color of your skin or where you were born, then you are not fully appreciating what will give you a strong identity and meaning in your life and what will lead to prosperity and security for everyone. and that is the values and ideals that we should all promote, that we respect everybody regardless of what they look like, that we give everybody opportunity no matter where they were born, whether they were born poor or they were born rich. we have laws that everybody has to observe, not just laws for one set of people and then laws for a different set of people.

because the problem with that approach, a very narrow way of thinking about yourself, is that inevitably youst have to be in conflict with somebody else. if the most important thing about you is that you are an american, if that is the one thing that defines you, then you may end up being threatened by people from other places when in fact you might have a lot in common and it you may -- in common and you miss other may opportunities. i am a very proud american, and my job as president of the united states is to look out for american interests, but my argument to the american people is the best way to look up for american interests is also to care about what is happening in our neighborhood, because in -- because if their house is

burning down, eventually my house will burn down. the best way for my daughters to be secure as americans is to make sure that people in el salvador or guatemala are also feeling some security, because if they are not, then eventually that may still -- spill over the borders to us. and some of the challenges that we face today are ones that no single group can solve. you look at something like climate change. that knows no borders. if there is pollution in china, it affects you here. if we are going to make sure the oceans don't rise so suddenly all the streets around lima are two feet underwater, then it is going to require everybody taking the kind of collective action that we talked about in the paris agreements.

so i think that we should all have the capacity, and governments should reflect this capacity, to be proud of our particular circumstance, be proud that, you know, you are haitian, be proud you are in the bahamas. be proud you are young black men. be proud of your particular identity, but also see what you have in common with people who don't look like you or don't come from the same places you do. because if we see what we have in common, then we will be able to work together, and that is going to be good for all of us. if all we see is differences, then we are automatically going to be in competition. and in order for me to do well, that means i have to put you down, which then makes you want to put me down. and everybody stays down here