Former President Obama said Wednesday that his presidency was based on “facts,” “reason” and “logic.”
He made the comments while speaking at a tech conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, stating that he made his decisions based on “facts and reason and logic,” according to the Associated Press.
The former president drew applause when he told the crowd that his strategies focused on problem-solving, not personal gain, which helped his administration avoid “big scandals and indictments,” taking an apparent swipe at President Trump.
Trump has been criticized for making false statements throughout his presidency. The Washington Post fact checker reported this week that Trump has made over 9,000 false or misleading claims during his time in office.
{mosads}Obama also lamented the “polarized time” in politics and the media, echoing comments he has made in the past.
“If you watch Fox News, you’re in one reality, and if you read the New York Times you’re in a different reality, and if you’re at Buzzfeed you’re someplace else,” he said, according to Utah news outlet KSL. “It’s been challenging to have a common conversation.”
He also described himself as an optimist, and said that since he first took the Oval Office, he has learned how to avoid the fear of what others think of him, and take his “ego out of” what he does in order to get more accomplished.
“What’s happened to me successively over the last decade … is a shedding of fear,” he said, according to KSL. “‘No drama Obama,’ and all that.”
“And what is true is that I have an even temper, and I don’t get too high, and I don’t get too low,” he continued. “But that doesn’t mean … there were not times where I wasn’t constrained by, ‘Man, I don’t want to screw this up.’”