President Barack Obama has telephoned President-elect Donald Trump to offer his congratulations on Tuesday night’s historic victory.
The Associated Press has the details:
President Barack Obama is congratulating Donald Trump on his victory in becoming the president-elect.
Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway says Obama called Trump early Wednesday while he was speaking to his supporters in New York, and so Trump called him back after he left the stage.
She said the two had what she described as a “very nice talk.” She said they would meet possibly on Thursday.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest had told reporters traveling aboard Air Force One last week that the president was leaving his schedule open on Wednesday and Thursday for a possible meeting with the president-elect.
The DCist has the full statement from White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest:
From the White House residence, the President phoned Donald Trump to congratulate him on his victory early this morning. The President also called Secretary Clinton and expressed admiration for the strong campaign she waged throughout the country.
The President will make a statement on Wednesday at the White House to discuss the election results and what steps we can take as a country to come together after this hard-fought election season.
The President invited the President-elect to meet with him at the White House on Thursday, November 10th, to update him on the transition planning his team has been working on for nearly a year. Ensuring a smooth transition of power is one of the top priorities the President identified at the beginning of the year and a meeting with the President-elect is the next step.
Now this should be an interesting meeting, considering how personally insulted Obama appears to be at the mere existence of Donald Trump.
I mean, let’s not forget how he reacted to Trump’s challenge of the veracity of his birth certificate.
And earlier this summer he flat out told the Congressional Black Caucus dinner attendees that a President Trump would be an insult to his legacy.
At CBC gala, President Obama delivers an impassioned call to back Clinton https://t.co/w1V5NM346t https://t.co/zVZvo4o0mb
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) September 18, 2016
And just look at some of the things Obama had to say about Trump in the last several days…
Obama: Trump doesn't hang out with working people unless they're cleaning his room or mowing his lawn. https://t.co/qlo0hUFm2T
— New Day (@NewDay) November 3, 2016
Obama on Trump: Anyone upset about an SNL skit, you don’t want in charge of nuclear weapons https://t.co/tsd4VYu2VI https://t.co/JzlOqcWFti
— CNN (@CNN) November 3, 2016
Obama: "This is a man who tweets 'They should cancel Saturday Night Live'… Come on, man" https://t.co/2DqAstBLwV pic.twitter.com/2dpc2BZ1YD
— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 3, 2016
NOW: Obama on Trump: "He says he's got 'a good brain.' Now, I won't opine on his brain.." https://t.co/2DqAstBLwV pic.twitter.com/DNAU7VK48v
— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 3, 2016
Obama: Trump doesn't hang out with working people unless they're cleaning his room or mowing his lawn https://t.co/wmCmGdMm0u
— CNN (@CNN) November 3, 2016
President Obama slams Donald Trump: "This isn't a joke, this isn't Survivor, this isn't the Bachelorette" https://t.co/Z3rQ7MOdAz
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) November 3, 2016
Clearly, for POTUS, this campaign was personal. How cooperative do you think he will be when it comes to “ensuring a smooth transition of power”?
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