Obama deems his conversation with Trump ‘excellent’
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BARACK Obama and Donald Trump put their differences aside in a 90-minute transition meeting at the White House on Thursday, hoping to quell fears about the health of the world’s pre-eminent democracy.
The outgoing president and his successor met in the Oval Office for what Obama described as an “excellent conversation.”
The meeting, which came less than 36 hours after Trump’s shock victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton, had the potential to be awkward. The two had traded barbs during the heated battle for the White House.
Trump — who previously called Obama the “most ignorant president in our history” — said it was a “great honor” to meet the US leader, adding that he looked forward to receiving the president’s counsel.
Obama — who previously said Trump was a whiner and “uniquely unqualified” to be commander-in-chief — vowed his support.
He told Trump his administration would “do everything we can to help you succeed, because if you succeed, then the country succeeds.”
The two ended the improbable and historic White House encounter with a handshake and refused to take questions.
“Here’s a good rule. Don’t answer questions when they just start yelling,” Obama told Trump, referring to the press.
White House officials said the two men had discussed a range of issues, including Obama’s meetings with leaders from Germany, Greece and across the Asia-Pacific during foreign travel next week.
On that trip, Obama is likely to be inundated with panicked questions about America’s role in world affairs.
Anger at the election result spilled onto the streets of US cities on Wednesday as chanting protesters lit bonfires and snarled traffic.
But in the days after Trump’s win, both sides spoke of healing the deep divisions sown in a bruising two-year campaign.
Trump’s vanquished Democratic rival, holding back the bitter disappointment of not becoming America’s first female president, urged the country to give Trump a chance.
“We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead,” Clinton said in her concession speech.
Obama, addressing disconsolate staff in the White House Rose Garden, played down Trump’s win as part of the messy “zig-zag” movement of a democracy.
“Sometimes you lose an argument,” he said, adding that all Americans should now be “rooting” for Trump’s success.
Both Obama and Clinton issued a faint — but clear — warning that Trump must respect institutions and the rule of law if a modicum of goodwill is to hold.
President Enrique Pena Nieto of Mexico, a prime target of Trump’s anti-immigration campaign rhetoric, reached out to congratulate the incoming leader and announced they would soon meet.
Team Trump unveiled a transition website — www.greatagain.gov — that highlights the human resources challenge facing the incoming administration under the headline “Help wanted: 4,000 presidential appointees.”
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