Obama says Trump soon to face sobering ‘reality’ check

President Obama went to great lengths not to criticize his successor, even on President-elect Trump’s controversial appointment of alt-right figure and former Breitbart News executive Steve Bannon to a top spot in his White House.

HORSLEY: And the president offered some reassurance for beaten-down Democrats.

In fact, he claimed that the President-elect had voiced a change in viewpoint during their Oval Office meeting last week on a key multinational issue.

Such clearance would allow Trump to discuss matters of national security with his daughter Ivanka, sons Eric and Donald Jr. and son-in-law Jared Kushner.

While speaking to reporters, Obama reaffirmed the USA commitment to North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, noting it has endured through both Democratic and Republican administrations. “This office is bigger than any one person, and that’s why ensuring a smooth transition is so important”, Obama said at the start of the press conference. “Because reality has a way of asserting itself”. But he says some people told him before the election that to better understand Trump, he should have read his book, “The Art of the Deal”. Of course I’ve got concerns. And by the way I get standing ovations from Republicans, from Republican groups.

WSJ was quoted saying: “Mr. Obama realised the Republican needs more guidance”.

“When you’re not responsible for it, I think you can call it a awful deal”. Hours before leaving on a trip that will take him to Greece, Germany and Peru, the president met reporters on Monday for the first time since Trump’s surprise victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton in the November 8 election, Efe news reported. “It will be up to him to set up a team that will serve his policies”.

Obama declined to wade into the Bannon controversy. Trump has threatened a more pugilistic approach, vowing to brand China a currency manipulator during his first 100 days in office.

The New York mogul has also spent time calling world leaders as he begins to develop ties with America’s allies – and adversaries.

He said the Iranian nuclear deal was good example of the “gap between” some of the rhetoric in this town, not unique to the president-elect, and the reality. “And I know that that begs the question, well, how is it that somebody who appears to have a very different world view just got elected? And prepared to lead the American people”, Priebus – seen as an establishment counter-weight to Bannon – told ABC’s “Good Morning America”.

During his campaign, Trump had criticised the global alliances saying that they had forced the U.S. to bear the their burden and that he would insist on the allies picking up the tab and being more responsible for their defences. For instance, he said that while most Americans support free trade, they ‘ re concerned about whether that’s fair to American workers as the world becomes more globalized. “They might have to retool or retrain”, Obama said. “And that’s what it must continue to be”, Obama said. Obama says reforms undertaken by the Greek government haven’t been easy but were necessary and will make the nation’s economy more competitive in the long-term. “And in some ways it feels worse because, for a lot of us, I think we didn’t see it coming”, he said. “So there is this mismatch, I think, between frustration and anger”.