The President has come under fire from a local leader on his short stop-off in San Bernardino while on his way to his annual 16-day Christmas vacation in Hawaii.

Obama met with the families of the 14 who were murdered on December 2 by Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik during a holiday party at Farook's work.

One local leader criticized the President for meeting only with relatives of the victims who lost heir lives in the attacks and accused him of 'politicizing' the tragedy in the weeks afterwards.

First Lady Michelle Obama joined her husband for the meetings at Indian Springs High School, just a short drive from the airport where Air Force One landed after the cross-country flight from Washington.

A separate table was set up for each family and the Obamas moved from one to the next, spending about ten minutes with each victim's relatives.

'Obviously, those families are going through a difficult time, not just because they've lost loved ones, but obviously at the holiday season I think that loss is even more acute,' said White House press secretary Josh Earnest.

'The president felt before he could begin his holiday that it was important for him to spend some time with these Americans who are mourning.'

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President Obama and daughter Sasha depart the White House as they gear up for a 16-day holiday in Honolulu, Hawaii, where Obama was born

Obama, pictured here walking with US Air Force Colonel John Millard Andrews, will visit San Bernardino before his annual December vacation

The girlfriend of one of the 14 people killed in the December 2 shooting in San Bernardino said President Obama immediately asked her for a hug when he came to talk with her on Friday night.

When Obama approached the table in the library of Indian Springs High School where Mandy Pifer was sitting, he said, 'Words aren't enough. How about a hug?'

Pifer's boyfriend Shannon Johnson, 45, was killed in the attack.

'I've been watching you give hugs,' Pifer recalled telling him. 'I need a hug.

'It just felt like they were really present in their conversation with me.

'They are sick and tired of doing these things, meeting our families.'

Obama said meeting with the families was a reminder 'of what's good in this country'.

'As difficult as this time is for them and for the entire community, they're also representative of the strength and the unity and the love that exists in this community and in this country,' Obama said late Friday after the meetings with family members.

Rep. Pete Aguilar, the Democratic congressman who represents San Bernardino, said it was important to have the president in the community to 'bring comfort'.

But San Bernardino Supervisor Curt Hagman said it wasn't enough, arguing that the first responders and the 22 who were injured in the attack 'also deserve the president's time'.

'This is an opportunity for unity and healing at the highest level and I call upon President Obama to be more inclusive with his meeting,' Hagman said in a statement.

Hagman also offered his assistance to bringing families of first responders and the wounded to the meeting.

After he was criticized for the statement on Facebook, Hagman accused Obama of using a terrorist attack 'to promote his agenda on gun control', according to Buzzfeed.

Earnest said Obama's visit was 'patterned after' a similar trip to Roseburg, Oregon, in October when he met for about an hour with families of the nine victims killed in a mass shooting at Umpqua Community College.

The president has visited the sites of other mass shootings, including Charleston, South Carolina and Newtown, Connecticut, seeking to console rather than express anger toward the killers.

Unlike the other visits, Obama landed in San Bernardino as local and federal authorities are still investigating the shooters, who were later killed in a gun battle with police.

The president will be joined by wife Michelle during the meetings and is expected to meet for a few hours with the families of the 14 victims who were killed by Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik at Farook's work

The president has visited the sites of other mass shootings, including Charleston, South Carolina and Newtown, Connecticut, seeking to console rather than express anger toward the killers

President Obama, right, and First Lady Michelle arrive at San Bernardino International Airport Friday night

Obama's visit will be 'patterned after' a similar trip to Roseburg, Oregon, in October when he met for about an hour with families of the nine victims killed in a mass shooting at Umpqua Community College

During the visit, Pifer told the Obamas about Johnson, how he loved life, his virtues and their future plans.

She also shared with them what she knows about his last moments: His colleague Denise Peraza, who survived the attack, said he huddled with her under a table as bullets flew across the room.

He held her close and told her, 'I got you.'

Peraza credits Johnson with her survival, and since then the phrase 'I got you' has spread across social media.

When she mentioned the phrase to the Obamas, they nodded, indicating it was a story they already knew, she said.

She brought a sign stating '#IGotYou' that they all posed for a photo with it.

Johnson and Peraza are in the initial stages of planning a foundation in Johnson's memory.

'I feel like they're on my side,' she said.

'They're on our side. And that he's going to keep working to make this better even after he's left office. It's personal for them.'

The Obamas encouraged her to reach out and promised to provide whatever support they could.

'Mrs Obama she did say that she would rap or perform at our fundraising concert,' Pifer said.

'I will try to make her keep her word on that.'

Pifer said the Obamas' visit was helpful.

'It's helping the grieving process,' Pifer said. 'It was very comforting.'

Obama said the family members were 'inspiring' as they spoke with pride about their loved ones.

'As we go into the holiday season, even as we are vigilant about preventing terrorist attacks from happening, even as we insist we can't accept the notion of mass shootings in public places, in places of work and worship, we have to remind ourselves of the overwhelming good that exists out there,' he said.

Obama held his year-end press conference before departing for his vacation and said he's 'never been more optimistic about a year ahead than I am right now'

Family members of shooting victim Isaac Amanios held a portrait of their slain loved one earlier this month

Shooting victim Aurora Godoy seen during a trip to San Francisco in an undated file photo

Ahead of the visit, two victim relatives described conflicting emotions: One hopeful, the other with doubt.

'It won't bring any closure to us,' said Evelyn Godoy, whose sister-in-law, Aurora Godoy, the mother of a toddler, was killed in the attack. 'But it's nice he's going to stop.'

In the aftermath of the massacre, families of those killed have grieved while also slowly learning the unsettling details about the couple, Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, 29, who killed their loved ones.

Federal investigators say they pledged allegiance to the leader of Islamic State terror organization before executing the attack at a holiday meeting December 2.

Twenty-one others were injured in the attack. Both Farook and Malik were later killed in a gunfight with police.

'Of course we have questions and we would like to know how and what happened,' said Robel Tekleab, whose brother-in-law, Isaac Amanios, 60, was killed.

'But that is for another time. Tomorrow is all about grieving together and comforting each other.'

Amanios greatly admired Obama, raising money for his 2008 campaign even through the immigrant from Eritrea was still not eligible to vote, said Tekleab, who worked as a field staffer on the president's 2012 re-election campaign.

Amanios even traveled to D.C. to attend Obama's 2009 inauguration.

Tekleab said he wants Obama to know who his brother-in-law was.

'His presence itself is comforting,' he said.

Evelyn Godoy said she didn't know what her family was hoping to hear.

On the one hand, his visit felt like a nice gesture. On the other, when she read in the news that he was stopping on his way to Hawaii for his vacation she couldn't help but feel 'like we were a throw in'.

'At the end of the day my sister-in-law isn't coming back,' she said. 'It doesn't bring her back.'

Obama, right and Michelle talk with San Bernardino Mayor Carey Davis, second from left, and chairman of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors James Ramos

Security was tight after a car carrying Enrique Marquez arrived at US District Court in Riverside on Thursday

FBI Director James Comey has said the killer couple was radicalized some time ago. Authorities are also trying to determine whether Farook and Malik had help from others.

Federal authorities have since charged Enrique Marquez for providing material support to Farook and Malik on Friday.

Marquez allegedly purchased two rifles used in the attack and had plotted to carry out attacks with Farook in 2011.

'We are always conscious of the impact that a presidential visit could have on law enforcement or emergency response resources,' Earnest said on Thursday.

'I would not anticipate that a visit by the president just for a couple of hours to that community to console the families of the victims of that attack would have any impact on the pace or success of the ongoing investigation.'

Obama held his year-end press conference before departing on Air Force One, and declared 'We're gonna defeat ISIS'.

Children stand with signs welcoming the president to San Bernardino

'They're gonna be on the run,' he said. But, he warned, 'they are gonna continue to be dangerous.'

Obama stated that, 'in order for us to stamp them out thoroughly, we have to eliminate lawless areas where they cannot still roam.'

'Our long term goal has to be able to stabilize these areas so that they don’t have any safe haven.'

The president also addressed his administration's efforts to shut down Guantanamo Bay and again said he expected the prisoner population there to be reduced to fewer than 100 before his term ended.

Obama further named job growth and criminal justice reform as issues he'd like to work with Republicans in Congress on during his final months in office.

He thanked them for ending 2015 'on a high note' by passing an education bill that reworks No Child Left Behind, as well as a budget that keeps the government running for another fiscal year.

'Now, there’s still a lot of work to do,' he said.

'For all the very real progress America has made over the past seven years, we still have some unfinished business.'

'And I plan on doing everything I can with every minute of every day that I have left as president to deliver on behalf of the American people.

'Since taking this office, I’ve never been more optimistic about a year ahead than I am right now.'