After Donald Trump’s controversial candidacy and election, many people were curious about how President Obama would react to his successor. Since Trump spread many vicious rumors about Obama’s parentage and political actions, many thought Obama would respond with hatred. However, Obama’s reaction after his first meeting with Trump showed a surprising amount of grace and politeness.
The Wall Street Journal was one of the first news outlets to learn what went on in Obama’s meeting with Trump. They report that Obama was shocked to realize just how little Trump knew about the office of the presidency. Trump has no political experience, and Obama realized that he has not studied up much on the role of the presidency either. Many of Trump’s aides were also oblivious to how the government works, so they probably would not be much help either. Many of them did not even realize that the West Wing staff would need to be replaced at the start of the new presidency. Therefore, Obama has offered to work extra hours with Trump during the transition.
Obama reportedly found that Trump was surprised by the scope of the president’s duties. He therefore plans to meet with Trump several more times to discuss the role and function of the president. During these talks, Obama will most likely go over the presidential responsibilities and explain how the political system works. Every other president in this nation’s history have either held a role as a public servant or worked in the military before. Trump is the first president to have no experience in governing and representing American citizens. Obama hopes to ease the transition between presidents by helping to educate Trump a little bit beforehand.
During these potential advice sessions, Obama hopes to explain the importance of some of the policies he backed during his administration. Trump has already stated that Obama convinced of the importance of a policy to prevent insurance companies from denying coverage on pre existing conditions. This discussion caused Trump to alter his previous view on allowing insurance companies to deny coverage. Hopefully, Obama will further be able to explain the logic of certain laws and policies that Trump has complained about before.
For many voters, Trump’s lack of experience seemed like a good thing. They hoped that he would be a breath of fresh air among all the politicians who are either corrupt or stuck in the past. However, Trump has already appointed many veteran Republicans and lobbyists as part of his team. It now seems as if not much will change in the Republican party other than the fact that they are now lead by a man who apparently knows almost nothing about politics.
It has to be difficult for Obama to work with Trump. Trump has chosen Stephen Bannon, who ran an overtly racist website, as one of his key advisers, and this type of civil rights setback must be unpleasant to the president who campaigned against racism and discrimination. Even though Obama may not agree with most of the things that Trump stands for, he is willing to put their differences aside for the good of the nation. Many people are facing fear and uncertainty after Trump’s election, so it is reassuring to know that Obama will be trying to reduce issues in the weeks to come. Perhaps his advice will help Trump to be a more responsible and respectable president.