Dispute spills into the open

PAlm BeACH: US President-elect Donald Trump fuelled a simmering dispute with Barack Obama on Wednesday, accusing him of derailing a smooth transition with “inflammatory” remarks, before appearing to row back.

Ever since the Nov 8 election, Trump and Obama have tried to bury political differences in favour of a united public front that would smooth the transfer of power.

But the Republican president-in-waiting unceremoniously cast any cordiality aside in a morning Twitter tirade from his Mar-aLago estate in Florida.

In a declaration that is unprecedented in its personal condemnation of a soon-to-be predecessor, the 70-year-old tweeted: “Doing my best to disregard the many inflammatory President O statements and roadblocks.”

”Thought it was going to be a smooth transition – NOT!“

But asked later if the process was

Donald Trump

going smoothly, Trump appeared to shift focus from his previous comments, stating: “Oh, I think very, very smoothly. Very good. You don’t think so?“

Trump later said he had spoken to Obama in what he described as “a very nice conversation ... appreciated that he called.”

Tensions between Trump and the current White House have been growing for weeks as Obama has become more outspoken about a vitriol-filled election that saw Democrat Hillary Clinton suffer a shock defeat.

Obama -- who is still the most popular politician in the country -recently suggested that he may have won a third term were he not constitutionally barred from doing so.

That seems to have irked the notoriously thin-skinned president-elect.

At the same time, the pair have competed to take credit for solid economic indicators.

After months of talking down the world’s largest economy, Trump has tried to take credit for a number of economic developments that are roughly on trend.

“The US Consumer Confidence Index for December surged nearly four points to 113.7, THE HIGHEST LEVEL IN MORE THAN 15 YEARS! Thanks Donald,” he tweeted late Tuesday, referring to himself in the third person. — AFP

Doing my best to disregard the many inflammatory President O statements and roadblocks.