Incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer said on Wednesday that President Barack Obama and President-elect Donald Trump “continue to talk,” even as Trump suggested that Obama was leaving “roadblocks” for his transition effort.
“They continue to talk,” Spicer said on a conference call with reporters. “I don’t know when the last time they did, but as the inauguration gets closer, both the current President and his team have been very helpful and generous with their time as far as the actual mechanics of the transition have gone, and I expect them to continue to speak fairly regularly.”
During a podcast interview with former adviser David Axelrod that went live on Monday, Obama said that he would have won the 2016 presidential race using the promise of “one America that is tolerant and diverse and open.”
Speaking at Pearl Harbor alongside Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday, Obama made a similar call for unity that could be read as a dig against Trump’s “America first” campaign rhetoric.
“Even when hatred burns hottest, even when the tug of tribalism is at its most primal, we must resist the urge to turn inward,” Obama said at the Pearl Harbor memorial site. “We must resist the urge to demonize those who are different.”
In an apparent response that began on Twitter Monday afternoon and continued through early Wednesday morning, Trump slammed Obama for his “inflammatory” statements:
President Obama said that he thinks he would have won against me. He should say that but I say NO WAY! – jobs leaving, ISIS, OCare, etc.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 26, 2016
President Obama campaigned hard (and personally) in the very important swing states, and lost.The voters wanted to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 27, 2016
Doing my best to disregard the many inflammatory President O statements and roadblocks.Thought it was going to be a smooth transition – NOT!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 28, 2016
When asked about his tweets and the transition process on Wednesday afternoon, Trump said he thinks the transition is going “very, very smoothly.”
“Very good,” he said, according to a transition pool report. “You don’t think so?”
This post has been updated.
Gotta say, Pres. Obama is a better man than most. I, and many others like me, male and female, would never have sat down with this human shtstain. Never. he’s so fcking perfect, let him learn the ropes from his advisers.
You extend your hand to feral trumpers, all you’ll pull back are some nubs.
A man you can bait with…by just being a person of honor.
Joke is on the little hands guy; the President doesn’t follow him on Twitter!
Wookin’ Pa Nub
[quote=You extend your hand to feral trumpers, all you’ll pull back are some nubs.
[/quote]
If you’re not carefull. Trumpanzees will bite your face off