Saturday, December 31, 2016

Obama Calls Trump After Twitter Complaint About 'Roadblocks'
U.S. President Barack Obama phoned his successor, Donald Trump, after the Republican accused Obama of hobbling the transition to his administration in a tweet that alleged unspecified
"inflammatory" statements and "roadblocks."

The tweet on Wednesday morning brought tensions between the two men into the open less than a month before Inauguration Day, though the president's phone call later may have smoothed over relations.

"We had a very nice conversation," Trump told reporters gathered at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. "We had a general conversation."
"Today's call, like the others since the election, was positive and focused on continuing a smooth and effective transition," White House spokesman Eric Schultz said in a statement. "The president and president-elect committed to staying in touch over the next several weeks and agreed their respective teams would continue to work together to effectuate a smooth transition of power on January 20th."
Earlier, Trump erupted on Twitter with attacks on actions and statements by the president, chiefly Obama's direction that the U.S. abstain from a United Nations Security Council vote declaring Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal. By declining to veto the resolution, the U.S. allowed it to pass unanimously, enraging Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"Doing my best to disregard the many inflammatory President O statements and roadblocks," Trump tweeted on Wednesday. "Thought it was going to be a smooth transition -- NOT!"
As president-elect, Trump has taken an unusually activist role with interventions into business decisions, federal contracting and foreign policy despite Obama's insistence that only one person can govern the U.S. at a time.
The Republican has promised his administration will be friendlier to Israel, a theme he emphasized on Twitter Wednesday.
© Copyright 2016 Bloomberg News. All rights reserved.

No comments: