President Obama has refrained from criticizing President-elect Trump since his stunning election victory last week, but said Monday his successor’s temperament could become an issue in office.
“There are going to be certain elements of his temperament that will not serve him well unless he recognizes them and corrects them,” the president said of Trump during a White House press conference. “Because when you’re president of the United States, everybody around the world is paying attention, markets move, national security issues require a level of precision in order to ensure that you don’t make mistakes.”
The president pointed to his disorganization as a flaw he was forced to address when he first took office, noting that the presidency “has a habit of magnifying” one’s own imperfections.
“I know myself well enough to know that I can’t keep track of paper — I’m not well-organized in that way,” he said to muted laughter from the press corps.
Obama and defeated Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton frequently criticized Trump’s temperament on the campaign trail. In the final days before the election, Obama called Trump “uniquely unqualified” to serve as commander in chief during an appearance for Clinton in New Hampshire.
