It's even more kick ass in full context.
Chancellor Merkel, I'd like to ask you, Bashar al-Assad has described Donald Trump as a natural ally. Your own Foreign Minister has described Donald Trump as a preacher of hate. I'm wondering, would you tell Americans that they now have a perception problem?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: One of the great things about our democracy is it expresses itself in all sorts of ways, and that includes people protesting. I've been the subject of protests during the course of my eight years, and I suspect that there's not a President in our history that, at some point, hasn't been subject to these protests. So I would not advise people who feel strongly or are concerned about some of the issues that have been raised during the course of the campaign -- I wouldn't advise them to be silent.
What I would advise -- what I advised before the election and what I will continue to advise after the election -- is that elections matter, voting matters, organizing matters, being informed on the issues matter. And what I consistently say to young people -- I say it in the United States, but I'll say it here in Germany and across Europe -- do not take for granted our systems of government and our way of life.
I think there is a tendency -- because we have lived in an era that has been largely stable and peaceful, at least in advanced countries, where living standards have generally gone up -- there is a tendency I think to assume that that's always the case. And it's not. Democracy is hard work.
More:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/11/17/remarks-president-obama-and-chancellor-merkel-germany-joint-press
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