OBAMA BEST ADVISED TO PULL HIS PUNCHES
WASHINGTON — Former President Barack Obama, returning to the national stage in a series of high-profile appearances, including one next month in Boston, has to walk a fine line between speaking out on issues he cares about and directly blasting his successor, if he wants to preserve his legacy and avoid President Trump’s wrath, strategists from both parties said.
“I hope that he is not going to go down a path of serving as fierce critic of Donald Trump,” said Democratic strategist Jim Manley. “Not only is that what Trump would want, because that would be a ready-made foil for him, but I think it’s also beneath the dignity of the former president to do something like that.”
“I think President Obama is right to stay away from directly engaging President Trump,” said Republican strategist John Feehery. “Trump counterpunches. A public spat does not help President Obama, but could help President Trump by mobilizing his base and keeping them energized.”
Obama kicked off a series of scheduled public appearances yesterday at a forum for young leaders at the University of Chicago, where he talked about issues from criminal justice reform and campaign finance to climate change and immigration — but never mentioned Trump.
“Although there are all kinds of issues that I care about and all kinds of issues that I intend to work on, the single most important thing I can do is to help in any way I can to prepare the next generation of leadership to take up the baton and take their own crack at changing the world,” Obama said.
Next month Obama will be in Boston to accept the Profile in Courage Award at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library as part of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of Kennedy’s birth. Later next month he’ll appear at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin with Chancellor Angela Merkel, and he also has some private paid speeches planned. A spokesman for Obama said he does not plan to directly address Trump or his policies in any of his appearances.
Most presidents in recent history have refrained from commenting publicly about their successors.
“I don’t think it’s good for the country to have a former president undermine a current president,” former President George W. Bush said in a 2014 interview.
The temptation to take the current president on directly may grow as time passes and Trump continues to take aim at Obama polices, but experts say it’s an urge Obama should resist.
“I understand there are real concerns out there that people want to see addressed,” said Manley. “I just don’t think it makes much sense for President Obama to be day in, day out, serving as a top critic of Donald Trump.”
“There is a country song that asks the question, ‘How can I miss you if you never leave?’ ” Feehery said. “That’s why presidents usually take a break from the public spotlight.”