PEARL HARBOR, Oahu — After a somber start to his vacation, President Barack Obama arrived in Hawaii on Saturday to celebrate Christmas and ring in his final year as president.
PEARL HARBOR, Oahu — After a somber start to his vacation, President Barack Obama arrived in Hawaii on Saturday to celebrate Christmas and ring in his final year as president.
Air Force One carrying Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, and daughters Malia and Sasha landed at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in the wee hours of the first day of his annual two-week holiday getaway from Washington.
On the way to Hawaii, Obama stopped in Southern California to carry out what has become one of the grimmest rituals of his presidency: consoling the grieving relatives of victims of gun violence.
Obama and his wife spent nearly three hours late Friday hearing from the loved ones of the nine men and five women killed Dec. 2 when a married couple opened fire on the husband’s co-workers at a workplace holiday party in San Bernardino, east of Los Angeles. The FBI is investigating the shooting as an act of terrorism.
Obama said the meetings in a high school library were “so moving” because the families were so representative of the country.
Authorities say the attack was planned and carried out by Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, 29. About 15 minutes after the attack began a post on a Facebook page associated with Malik appeared and said “we pledge allegiance” to the leader of the Islamic State group.
So far, authorities have said they have no evidence that the American-born Farook and his Pakistani wife were carrying out orders from an overseas terrorist group or that they were part of a domestic terrorist network.
IS has claimed responsibility for a series of coordinated assaults in Paris on Nov. 13 that left 130 people dead.
Obama flew to San Bernardino after taking questions from reporters at his annual year-end news conference at the White House.
The president usually spends his vacation time in Hawaii, the island state where he was born, frequenting the island’s golf courses, dining out, hiking, going to the beach and treating himself and his kids to shave ice, a frozen dessert that looks like a snow cone.