President Obama declined to comment on the dozens of Democratic members of Congress who have refused to attend the upcoming inauguration of President-elect Trump, joking instead that he is more concerned with the weather forecast for Friday’s ceremonies.
“All I know is I’m going to be there. So is Michelle,” Obama said Wednesday during the final press conference of his presidency.
Beginning with Georgia Rep. John Lewis late last week, Democrats in the House have issued statements explaining their decisions to boycott Trump’s inauguration in a major break with tradition.
Lawmakers from both parties have almost always attended the presidential inauguration every four years regardless of the affiliation of the president taking the oath of office.
Obama said he has continued to speak with Trump regularly throughout the transition process in conversations he described as friendly.
“They are cordial,” he said of his discussions with Trump. “At times they have been fairly lengthy and they’ve been substantive.”
But Obama acknowledged that Trump is likely to pursue policies he disagrees with after the president-elect takes office on Friday.
“My working assumption is that, having won an election opposed to a number of my initaitives … it is appropriate for him to go forward with his vision and his values, and I don’t expect that there’s going to be enormous overlap,” Obama said.
He offered Trump some parting advice: to choose his Cabinet and advisors wisely.
“This is a job of such magnitude that you can’t do it by yourself,” Obama said, noting he has been “enormously reliant” on advisors and staff when making decisions.
