“When you stand in that room [for the State of the Union address], you will be looking out over a room that is arguably as divided as it has ever been,” Lauer began his question. “Do you see that as a failure of your presidency? You came to town saying it was about hope and change, that you were going to change the tone in Washington. You wanted to unite people, and they’re not united.”

“It’s a regret,” Obama said in response.

The president added that he is proud of what his administration has accomplished and cautioned to not look at the past “through rose-colored glasses.”

“It’s been pretty divided in the past. There have been times where people beat each other with canes, and we had things like the Civil War. So, there have been times where it has been pretty rough,” he said.