{"id":270228,"date":"2016-11-21T06:36:55","date_gmt":"2016-11-21T06:36:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=270228"},"modified":"2016-11-21T06:36:55","modified_gmt":"2016-11-21T06:36:55","slug":"obama-says-he-may-comment-as-citizen-on-trumps-presidency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2016\/11\/obama-says-he-may-comment-as-citizen-on-trumps-presidency\/","title":{"rendered":"Obama says he may comment as citizen on Trump’s presidency"},"content":{"rendered":"
US president Barack Obama has said he may speak out after leaving office if he feels his successor Donald Trump is threatening core American values.<\/p>\n
By convention, former presidents tend to leave the political fray and avoid commenting on their successors.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a news conference at the Apec summit in Lima, Peru, Mr Obama said he intended to assist Mr Trump and give him time to outline his vision.<\/p>\n
But he said that, as a private citizen, he might speak out on certain issues.<\/p>\n
“I want to be respectful of the office and give the president-elect an opportunity to put forward his platform and his arguments without somebody popping off,” Mr Obama said.<\/p>\n
But, he added, if an issue “goes to core questions about our values and our ideals, and if I think that it’s necessary or helpful for me to defend those ideals, then I’ll examine it when it comes”.<\/p>\n
The president described himself as an “American citizen who cares deeply about our country”.<\/p>\n