Obama Takes Subtle Jabs At Trump: He’s Not “Sweating The [Policy] Details”
“You Can’t Manage It The Way You Would Manage A Family Business,” President Says Of Running The Nation
President Barack Obama appeared to take several subtle jabs at President-elect Donald Trump in a wide-ranging interview with ABC News that aired Sunday morning.Â
“If it gives him fresh eyes, then that can be valuable,” Obama said. “But it also requires you knowing what you don’t know and putting in place people who do have the kinds of experience and background and knowledge that can inform good decision making.”
Obama said he and Trump are “sort of opposites” but appeared to dodge a question from This Week host George Stephanopoulos about whether he likes the president-elect, saying, “I’ve enjoyed the conversations that we’ve had.”
Obama told Stephanopoulos he’s tried to convey to Trump that there’s “a difference between governing and campaigning,” and that once he’s sworn in, he’ll be running “the largest organization on earth.”Â
“You can’t manage it the way you would manage a family business,” Obama said.
The outgoing president also took some of the blame for Democratic losses in the Nov. 8 election, but predicted that one of his signature initiatives, the Affordable Care Act, will survive in some form.Â
“It may be called something else. And as I said, I don’t mind,” Obama said. “If in fact the Republicans make some modifications, some of which I may have been seeking previously, but they wouldn’t cooperate because they didn’t want to — make the system work, and relabel it as Trumpcare, I’m fine with that.”Â
Watch clips of the interview here.Â
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