Barack Obama: ‘Reality will force Donald Trump to adjust approach’

At his last scheduled worldwide news conference following an APEC summit in Lima, Peru, Sunday, a reporter asked Obama if he will speak out if he sees Donald Trump undoing numerous policies that defined the Obama White House.

The business lobby said it has been “encouraged” by Mr. Trump’s comments about the need to rebuild USA infrastructure, develop all forms of domestic energy, reform taxes and cut red tape.

The US’ ability to uphold “international norms and rules – that’s what’s made the modern world”, Obama said, admitting that Washington had not always fulfilled its own ideals, but remained vital to global security. The president took the opportunity to praise the prosperity built in America and the rest of the world through trade agreements, and he also offered advice to Trump and members of Congress.

“I think the issue is, we do have the makings of an administration that could do more damage to democratic norms than any presidency in my lifetime”, Tanden said.

He said he is proud that his administration has not suffered any major scandals during his time in office and recounted advising Trump that he should hire a strong White House counsel.

“And as a outcome, and I’ll knock on some wood here, because we’ve got two months left, I am extremely proud of the fact that over eight years we have not had the kinds of scandals that have plagued other administrations”, he said.

If Obama keeps his word, he’ll follow the legacy of his predecessor, George W. Bush, who made a point of nearly never criticizing Obama.

Trump will take over as the 45th President of the United State on January 20.

The mainstream media went insane last week after President-elect Donald Trump went to dinner with his family without sending out a press release. Obama said that he would uphold the tradition of ex-presidents stepping aside quietly and allowing their successors to govern.

Obama has suggested several times over the past week that he’ll join those criticizing President Trump, if necessary. “I think that if Hillary Clinton had won the election then I’d just turn over the keys”, he said. “It’s difficult. A former president doesn’t need to make it any harder”, Bush added at the time.

A Trump transition team statement said their discussion included the USA economy, global capital markets and the world financial situation, as well as tax reform and long-term debt.

Publicly, at least, Obama is generally painting a more hopeful picture by making the argument that real-world realities will force Trump to get it together.

“No. I was not looking around”, he said, adding that he was poring through one of the Apec reading materials when Obama walked in.

“There’s nobody to fill the void”.