Obama back on the global stage with Asia and France visits

WASHINGTON: Now a private citizen, former US President Barack Obama re-emerged on the global stage as he opened a three-country tour that includes meetings with the leaders of China and India, just as President Donald Trump courts those same world powers.

During a five-day trip, Obama will mix paid speeches with foreign leader meetings and even a town hall event for young people, the signature event that Obama became known for around the world during his eight years in office.

He’ll finish the trip in France, where he’ll give one of several speeches planned during the trip.

The tour continues a longstanding tradition of former US presidents travelling overseas after leaving office, especially as they work to attract donations and other support for their foundations, libraries and presidential centres.

But Obama’s trip may garner particular attention, given that many foreign countries are still uncertain about Trump’s foreign policy and may look to his predecessor to help explain America’s current direction.

“Barack Obama is the great explainer to the rest of the world of what the h*** is going on in America,” said Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian at Rice University.

“He’s a calming influence in a world that’s teetering on frenzy right now.

Obama arrives and it reminds them of old-style diplomacy and the dignity of statesmanship.”

An Obama aide wouldn’t say whether the former president or his staff had contacted Trump’s White House ahead of the trip, but said that Obama’s staff had reached out to the US embassies in each country.

Former presidents retain Secret Service protection, so there’s at least some US government involvement in facilitating the trip.