Fact-checking President Obama’s press conference

During a press conference on the 100th day of his second term, President Barack Obama addressed a number of high-profile issues, including the fighting in Syria, the Boston Marathon attack, and the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

He also talked about across-the-board cuts to federal spending known as the sequester. He criticized Congress for taking a piecemeal approach to putting off the cuts that affected the Federal Aviation Administration. 

If lawmakers are “seriously concerned about passenger convenience and safety,” Obama said, they should think about the longterm infrastructure needs of the nation’s airports.

“There was a recent survey of the top airports … in the world, and there was not a single U.S. airport that came in the top 25. Not one U.S. airport was considered by the experts and consumers who use these airports to be in the top 25 in the world,” he said. “I think Cincinnati airport came in around 30th. What does that say about our longterm competitiveness and future?”

We looked into that statement and found Obama was right about the survey’s rankings, but that the survey considered other criteria in addition to infrastructure. We rated his statement Mostly True. 

Obama also defended his signature health care law, saying most Americans don’t need to worry about Obamacare “glitches and bumps” that may come next year when its major provisions take effect.

“For the average American out there, for the 85 to 90 percent of Americans who already have health insurance, this thing has already happened,” he said. “And their only impact is that their insurance is stronger, better and more secure than it was before. Full stop. That’s it. They don’t have to worry about anything else.”

We found Obama’s unequivocal language glossed over some of the law’s complexity. We reviewed some of the changes people with insurance might face and concluded his statement was Half True.