We attended Obama’s last press conference as president — here’s what it was like

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama, 2,920 days into his presidency, held his final White House press conference Wednesday.

With just hours to go until President-elect Donald Trump takes the oath of office, the James Brady Press Briefing Room was packed to hear Obama answer questions as president one final time.

Here’s what it was like to be amid the scrum:

The room began filling up more than an hour before Obama took the podium. Much smaller than it appears on TV, the briefing room was sweltering in the back. People were crammed tightly hoping to get photos and footage of the president. Some joked they were excited for Trump’s incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer to take action on his suggestion to move the briefings to a larger location.

At about 2:20 p.m., Obama took the podium. The sounds of shuttering cameras quickly enveloped the small space.

Reporters and photographers were packed like sardines against the near wall in the briefing room. Some began shooting on Facebook Live, with almost everyone jockeying for position to get a decent shot.

Obama began by noting his administration has been in touch with the Bush family as President George H.W. Bush and former first lady Barbara Bush had been admitted to the hospital. He also thanked the press.

It was Obama’s 39th solo White House press conference, according to a pool report.

Eight reporters got questions. Sadly, no one in what were deemed the “cheap seats” behind the assigned seating got any.

Many of the final topics were related to Trump.

Like if the president-elect would lift sanctions on Russia.

Or about what his thoughts were on some Democrats skipping Friday’s inauguration.

He was asked if he was fearful of DREAMers losing their legal status, and about what the future would mean for LGBT rights, race relations, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In his most pointed answer, he called the claim that millions of people fraudulently voted, which has been propagated by Trump, “fake news.”

The final question was related to his two daughters, Sasha and Malia, and how he and his wife, first lady Michelle Obama, were discussing the meaning of the election results with them.

He spoke of teaching them “resilience.” “You get knocked down, you get up, brush yourself off, and you get back to work. And that tended to be their attitude.”

In his typically calm demeanor, Obama wrapped up the nearly hour-long affair by reassuring that he thinks “we’re going to be OK.”

And he gave a final message to the White House press: “Good luck.”

Obama then dipped out of the room, as a few reporters shouted questions in hope of getting any final answers. Soon after, without missing a beat, network correspondents shot their stand-ups, the same as how it would have gone down at any of Obama’s prior press conferences.

But it won’t be long before the room is filled again. The Trump administration’s first briefing is slated for Monday.