Barack Obama: “I just hope that everybody is listening to the veterans around this room and the organizations that they represent.”

The full weight of the federal government is being brought down on a law-abiding elected official because she has dared to criticize the president.

I think when we act on that basis, it doesn't always work out, but over time things do get better.

When we choose, when we make that decision, I do believe – and there is evidence for this – that the world gets incrementally better, and that is a worthy goal and it’s worth fighting for.

It is a basic principle of American democracy that the government can’t selectively target individuals simply because of their political beliefs or what they say.