Obama defends terrorism approach while criticizing Trump’s ideas

President Obama delivered a powerful critique against the use of torture and continued detentions at Guantanamo, making clear these practices are not only ineffective but damaging to United States national security.

The White House declined to describe the President’s conversations about potential Cabinet picks or other appointments with the President-elect, saying that those talks are private. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Mr Obama had believed that large troop presences in Iraq and Afghanistan were unsustainable. “It’s good for them, but it’s good for all of us”. While he would have the authority to cut some kinds of funding, mayors of those cities have said they will not be pressured to report migrants to federal agents.

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But he urged policy planners – and indirectly his replacement, President-elect Donald Trump – not to overreact to the threat by overcommitting American forces and choosing military might over diplomacy. He stated, “Today’s terrorists can kill innocent people, but they don’t pose an existential threat to our nation, and we must not make the mistake of elevating them as if they do”.

Obama said, “We are fighting terrorists who claim to fight on behalf of Islam. but they do not speak for over a billion Muslims around the world”. Trump has said that he would like to censor news organizations that cover him unfavorably and has regularly barred members of the media from his events for seemingly no reason.

“I’m not president yet, so I didn’t do anything to divide”, he said. “His presidency is summed up in two words ‘America first, ‘” Lewandowski concluded, while adding, “I love it”. I don’t think he’s addressed it to the satisfaction of many of his critics. “I differ very greatly”.

Ever since Trump’s surprise win last month on a platform full of populist ideas that run counter to Republican orthodoxy, the question for Republican leaders in Congress has been whether they will follow his lead on such proposals, or whether more traditional GOP policies will prevail.

Trump spent years challenging Obama’s birthplace and whether he was eligible to serve as President and also vowed during the campaign to “repeal and replace” the President’s signature accomplishment, Obamacare.

The president-elect, who is roughly halfway through announcing his Cabinet choices, most recently selected Gen. James Mattis for secretary of Defense. Obama said that was because Baghdad refused to sign a pact granting legal protections to USA troops to stay, though officials have acknowledged privately over the years that Obama never forcefully pushed for such a deal.

“I will only engage the use of military forces when it’s in the vital national security interests of the United States”, he said. It’s about what’s good for the country. “I’m able to put this stuff behind us”, Trump said. “I’m very happy about that actually”.

Earlier in Tampa, Obama had twice seemed to call out Trump directly on promises he made in the run-up to the election.

Trump has said little about how he intends to combat extremist groups, arguing that ambiguity and unpredictability are assets that deny the enemy a chance to plan ahead.