President Obama will visit a military base in Tampa, Fla., next week to deliver a speech about his administration’s counterterrorism strategy and what the incoming Republican president could do to continue it.
In his trip to MacDill Air Force Base next Tuesday, Obama will meet with U.S. special operations forces and other service members who have been heavily involved in the battle against radical Islamic militants in Iraq and Syria.
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White House press secretary Josh Earnest billed the upcoming visit as Obama’s final chance to discuss how his administration has “effectively and durably implemented reforms” to keep Americans safe. Earnest would not say whether the trip will mark Obama’s last domestic travel opportunity before he hands off the baton to President-elect Trump on Jan. 20.
“The president also will deliver formal remarks on the counterterrorism strategy he has directed as commander in chief, including our strategy and the gains we have made, while staying true to the values that have always been at America’s core,” Earnest told reporters.
MacDill hosts both U.S. Special Operations and U.S. Central Command, the latter of which has played an active role in targeting major terrorist organizations like the Islamic State in the Middle East and investigating U.S.-led airstrikes against ISIS targets in Syria. Trump has said he will continue to aggressively target the Islamic State, though he has also hinted at ending the provision of humanitarian aid to rebel fighters in Syria.
“I’m not saying Assad is a good man, because he’s not. But our far greater problem is not Assad, it’s ISIS,” Trump told the New York Times in March, adding that U.S. officials “have no idea who these people are” that are battling the current Syrian government of Bashar Assad.
Trump and Obama have sparred on several occasions over their differences about threats to national security, preventing radicalization and fighting terrorism at home and abroad. The White House sees the president’s speech next week as an opportunity not only to tout Obama’s counterterrorism choices, but to encourage Trump to continue at least some aspects of the current administration’s strategy.
A former adviser to Trump on national security strategy told the Washington Examiner the president-elect should “certainly pay attention to what his predecessor has to say” but also remain committed to “identifying the enemy as ‘radical Islam’ and keeping Americans safe with policies he has already put forward.”
