“You have to give him credit for his remarkable restraint given the repudiation that he has received at the hands of Donald Trump, whose agenda seems to be based on undoing everything that Obama did and not much more,” said Updegrove. “In so doing, President Obama has observed this unwritten rule among former presidents to let their successors find their way in the office.”

Justin S Vaughn, a professor of political science at Boise State University, made a similar observation.

“Something that might be kind of interesting to watch is if Barack Obama’s post-presidential ambitions change as he sees his presidential legacy dissolve,” said Vaughn. “Every day it seems that President Trump manages to erase a little bit more of what Obama accomplished as president.