Obama revealed that his very first meeting with Donald Trump was “excellent”
If you’ve been filled with doom and gloom since the results of the 2016 president election were announced, we have a little ray — or potentially a BIG ray — of sunshine to report. On November 10th, Donald Trump met with Barack Obama and the current president called the conversation “excellent.” Excellent?! Although we may be skeptical, we’ll take it!
Speaking to the press in the White House after their meeting, it appeared that both Obama and Trump were attempting to move past their political differences for the good of the nation. Their meeting lasted around 90 minutes and President Obama said he was “very encouraged by the interest” that his successor showed in wanting to work with his current team.
If Obama says he’s “very encouraged,” we should be “very encouraged,” right??
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T21v-jmxiC8?feature=oembed
OK, maybe you’re aren’t very encouraged when you hear and see Obama’s less-than-enthused tone of voice and face, but still — we’re searching for the good here.
As President Obama serves all of America — including the people who didn’t vote for the candidate whom he endorsed — his willingness to work with Trump is an attempt to set an example for the rest of the country. And the current president said:
"I believe that it is important for all of us, regardless of party and regards of political preferences, to now come together — work together — to deal with the many challenges that we face."
Obama wasn’t the only one with positive things to say either as Trump also complimented Obama. Although the pair had never met in person before, Trump said he had “great respect” for him and it was a “great honor” to be with him. And Trump may even turn to Obama for advice, since he revealed:
"I very much look forward to dealing with the president in the future, including counsel."
If you expected this meeting not to go well based on Obama and Trump’s varying political views, White House press secretary Josh Earnest explained afterward that:
"The president vowed to work with whomever the American people chose. So, no, they did not recreate some sort of presidential debate in the Oval Office today. They were focused on doing the work of the American people — fulfilling their institutional responsibilities."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aVBppNDRgI?feature=oembed
As his words after his meeting with Trump show, Obama is trying to lead by example to unify America. And it seems the president really means what he said to Trump in front of the press that:
"We now are gonna want to do everything we can to help you succeed because if you succeed, then the country succeeds."
*Sigh* I guess it’s kind of hard to argue with that sort of presidential logic.
