US President Obama Sheds New Light On White House Chat With Donald Trump

Obama, who was in Germany last night (Thursday, 17 November) on one of his last official overseas visits as US President, told a press conference that he advised his successor: “What may work in generating enthusiasm or passion during elections may be different than what will work in terms of unifying the country and gaining the trust even of those who didn't support him.'
President Obama said that he walked away from the meeting “cautiously optimistic” that Donald Trump had taken onboard his advise. “My hope is that that's something that he is thinking about because not only is the President of the United States somebody that the entire country looks to for direction, but sets the agenda internationally in a lot of ways.”
He added at the Berlin press conference, “I don't expect that the president-elect will follow exactly our blueprint or our approach.”
Obama said he hopes Trump won’t cosy up to Putin. “But my hope is he does not simply take a realpolitik approach and suggest we cut some deals with Russia – even if it hurts people or violates international norms or leaves smaller countries vulnerable or creates long-term problems in region like Syria that we just do whatever is convenient at the time.”
In what might be perceived as a sly dig at Trump, President Obama observed at the press conference that being President of the US was a position that "demands seriousness – and if you're not serious about the job, then you probably won't be there very long because it will expose problems.”
Trump, Obama added, would discover “fairly quickly” that being the so-called ‘Most Power Man in the World’ is not a position you can just take “casually”.
Speaking about his Trump’s shock election, President Obama observed: “He ran an extraordinarily unconventional campaign and it resulted in the biggest political upset in perhaps modern political history.”

Here’s the the full press conference President Obama gave alongside Chancellor Merkel last night (17 November):

But even though he praised Trump's campaign, President Obama refused to take the opportunity to urge anti-Trump protestors to stop their campaign of demonstrations across the country to vent their anger at the shock election result.
“One of the great things about our democracy is it expresses itself in all sorts of ways, and that includes people protesting. I would not advise people who feel strongly or are concerned about some of the issues that have been raised during the course of the campaign, I wouldn't advise them to be silent. What I would advise...is that elections matter, voting matters, organizing matters, being informed on the issues matter,” Obama firmly stated.
However, President Obama promised to help Trump with his smooth transition of power when he hands over the keys to the Oval Office. “There's something about the solemn responsibilities of that office, the extraordinary demands that are placed on the United States, not just by its own people, but by people around the world that forces you to focus,' he observed.

Here’s an interview President Obama gave to German TV last night (17 November). Be warned as it's in a mixture of English and German: