President Obama said his biggest policy disappointment as president was not passing gun control laws, according to an interview CNN aired Wednesday evening.

"If you ask me where has been the one area where I feel that I've been most frustrated and most stymied, it is the fact that the United States of America is the one advanced nation on Earth in which we do not have sufficient common sense gun safety laws," Obama told Fareed Zakaria in the TV special, "The Legacy of Barack Obama."

Despite national anger following mass shootings throughout his two terms, Obama was unable to convince Congress to pass legislation that would change those policies, including enhancing background checks and not selling firearms at gun shows and other venues.

Obama was adamant in the days following the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newton, Conn., that he had done all he could to keep the U.S. afloat in the midst of other challenges, including the auto and bank bailout, and did not have the support to push a controversial gun bill now. Obama's frustration prompted him to take executive action in January 2016.

"The gun lobby may be holding Congress hostage right now, but they cannot hold America hostage," Obama said when announcing his decision.

That executive order expanded background checks while narrowing loopholes that allowed firearms to be sold at gun shows.