President Obama and Jay Leno / Jacquelyn Martin, AP

It may have been The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, but President Obama's interview Tuesday night did cover some serious subjects like terrorism.

The temporary closing of U.S. embassies in the Middle East and Africa is "a reminder that for all the progress we've made -- getting (Osama) bin Laden, putting al-Qaeda between Afghanistan and Pakistan back on its heels -- that this radical, violent extremism is still out there," Obama told Leno at one point. "And we've got to stay on top of it."

Here are some other topics and comments:

The U.S. warnings to overseas travel


The National Security Agency surveillance programs


National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden

"Well, we don't know yet exactly what he did, other than what he's said on the Internet, and it's important for me not to prejudge something. ... Hopefully, at some point he'll go to trial and he will have a lawyer and due process, and we can make those decisions."

Russia's decision to grant Snowden temporary asylum

"There have been times where they slip back into Cold War thinking and a Cold War mentality. And what I consistently say to them, and what I say to President (Vladimir) Putin, is that's the past and we've got to think about the future, and there's no reason why we shouldn't be able to cooperate more effectively than we do."

Russia's threat to enforce anti-gay laws at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi

"I think Putin and Russia have a big stake in making sure the Olympics work, and I think they understand that for most of the countries that participate in the Olympics, we wouldn't tolerate gays and lesbians being treated differently. They're athletes, they're there to compete."

His new friendship with John McCain


The president's recent lunch with Hillary Rodham Clinton

"We had a great time. She had that post-administration glow ... You know, when folks leave the White House -- two weeks later, they look great."

His remarks on the Trayvon Martin case

"Well, I think all of us were troubled by what happened. And any of us who were parents can imagine the heart ache that those parents went through. ... And what I wanted to try to explain was why this was a particularly sensitive topic for African American families, because a lot of people who have sons know the experience they had of being followed or being viewed suspiciously."

Copyright 2015

Read the original story: Obama on Leno: Terrorist threat 'still out there'


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