Obama will spend final presidential trip abroad trying to reassure world about Trump
President Obama’s final official trip abroad will likely be spent reassuring leaders of close allies about the future of the U.S. under President-elect Donald Trump.
Reporting from Washington — President Obama on Monday heads for Europe and then South America to face world leaders wondering what to expect from the U.S. after he leaves office, and to deliver the only honest answer he has: He just doesn’t know.
Aides to the president have spent the last few days wrestling with what to say about President-elect Donald Trump on the global stage. A private one-on-one meeting in the Oval Office a few days ago between Trump and Obama did little to shed light.
As a result, Obama is planning simply to note Trump’s public commitment to work with him on a peaceful transfer of power, and to point to the historical precedent of U.S. presidents honoring longstanding alliances
Advertisement
“Presidents in both parties have been committed to investing in those alliances,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said. “That’s certainly what has happened in the past.”
Obama had hoped to be more specific when he first planned this trip months ago. Harboring a deep concern about the uncertain future of Europe, thrust into its own incendiary mix of a rise of nationalism amid an influx of millions of refugees, he wanted to use his final official foreign trip to reassure European allies and pledge support for shared policies.
Video playlist: The Trump Transition
Advertisement
At the time, he believed that Democrat Hillary Clinton would be elected to succeed him in the White House and that he’d be endorsing her plans to remain on the same foreign policy track after a long and divisive presidential campaign.
Trump’s election changed all that. The Republican president-elect has offered few details of his plans for dealing with the rest of the world even as he cast himself as an opponent of existing trade agreements, the Iran nuclear deal and much of Obama’s military strategy. He has said he prefers to keep adversaries guessing.
Of particular concern to the leaders of NATO-allied countries, many of whom Obama will meet with this week, is Trump’s profession of admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin. The allies are at odds with Russia over its intervention in Ukraine, aggression in the Baltics and military support for Syrian President Bashar Assad in the years-long civil war there.
Advertisement
“This trip was really meant to say, ‘You know, we went through it, but we’re going to be fine,’” said Heather Conley, director of the Europe program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Now the president has the unenviable task of explaining.”
European leaders fear “the Trump effect,” she said, and “are very worried because the same populist, nationalist expressions, whether that’s on immigration, whether that is on free trade, has certainly been running very strong political currents within Europe.”
Obama doesn’t want to explain or speculate about Trump’s plans, one senior aide said. Nor does he want to speak disrespectfully of the president-elect in private meetings with world leaders who may be trying to figure out how to deal with or even manipulate the new head of state. At the same time, Obama wants to be frank about the concerns and aspirations of Americans who elected Trump.
The high-wire act begins Monday as Obama leaves for Athens, where he’ll discuss the NATO alliance and Greece’s economic recovery with the country’s leaders. He’ll also visit the Parthenon, that ancient symbol of democracy and western civilization, and deliver a major speech on how the world has changed while he has been in office.
On Thursday he’ll fly to Berlin to pay one final visit to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whom he considers his closest partner over the course of his presidency. On Friday he will take part in a broader meeting that also includes the leaders of Britain, France, Italy and Spain.
Some see the election of Trump as heightening the importance of Merkel, on whom the U.S. has relied heavily to help manage the crisis in Ukraine and Europe’s economic future.
Advertisement
Obama will weigh in with a much larger group of world leaders after flying to Peru on Friday for a summit of the 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation organization. Obama will publicly confront the likelihood that the U.S. will back out of the massive Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal he spent years pushing. Trump made clear on the campaign trail that he is against it.
1/63
President-elect Donald Trump arrives at the New York Hilton Midtown in New York on Nov. 8, 2016. Trump stunned America and the world Wednesday, riding a wave of populist resentment to defeat Hillary Clinton in the race to become the 45th president of the United States.
(SAUL LOEB / AFP/Getty Images)
2/63
People cheer at Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s election night event at the New York Hilton Midtown on Nov. 8, 2016 in New York City.
(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
3/63
People react as they watch voting result at Democratic presidential nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s election night event at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on Nov. 8, 2016 in New York City.
(Drew Angerer / Getty Images)
4/63
Supporters cheer as they watch election returns during Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s election night rally in the Jacob Javits Center glass enclosed lobby in New York, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016.
(David Goldman / AP)
5/63
About a dozen supporters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump carry signs and flags as they walk through New York, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016.
(Seth Wenig / AP)
6/63
The White House is seen during the presidential election night on Nov. 8, 2016, in Washington, D.C.
(YURI GRIPAS / AFP/Getty Images)
7/63
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, greet supporters after voting in Chappaqua, N.Y., on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016.
(Seth Wenig / AP)
8/63
Hana Alshamry, left, waits in line with others to vote at the Holladay City Hall on Nov. 8, 2016, in Holladay, Utah.
(Rick Bowmer / AP)
9/63
David Trahan votes while wearing American flag tights at City Hall in San Francisco on Nov. 8, 2016.
(Jeff Chiu / AP)
10/63
David Delacruz votes as his dog Bozco waits at City Hall in San Francisco, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016.
(Jeff Chiu / AP)
11/63
Shawna Gable arrives to vote on Election Day at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Charter School in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016.
(Gerald Herbert / AP)
12/63
Luis Arturo Chapas looks over his ballot before voting on Election Day at the Foodland Grocery Store and Mercado in the National City section in San Diego on Nov. 8, 2016.
(John Gibbins / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
13/63
Ranelle Taylor points to her “I Voted” sticker after voting at Santa Monica City Hall on Nov. 8, 2016, in Santa Monica, California.
(Frederic J. Brown / AFP/Getty Images)
14/63
An American flag sits upon a mountaintop as a train rolls by outside Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 8, 2016.
(Jeff Swensen / Getty Images)
15/63
Vice President Joe Biden receives his “I Voted” sticker after casting his vote on Election Day on Nov. 8, 2016, at A.I. DuPont High School in Wilmington, Delaware.
(Jennifer Corbett / AP)
16/63
Voters cast their ballots at the Sutton town hall on Nov. 8, 2016, in Sutton, New Hampshire.
(Ryan McBride / AFP/Getty Images)
17/63
First dog Sutter Brown looks around as his owner, California Gov. Jerry Brown, third from right, talks to reporters after casting his ballot in Sacramento, Calif., on Nov. 8, 2016.
(Rich Pedroncelli / AP)
18/63
Retired lab worker Marquita Sena of Pojoaque, N.M., joins Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson in waving a sign at an intersection outside the state Capitol in Santa Fe, N.M., on Nov. 8, 2016.
(Morgan Lee / AP)
19/63
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence walks with his wife, Karen, and daughter, Charlotte, to cast their ballots on Nov. 8, 2016, in Indianapolis.
(Darron Cummings / AP)
20/63
Dump trucks sit outside of Trump Tower as security is increased in the area on Election Day on Nov. 8, 2016, in New York City.
(Spencer Platt / Getty Images)
21/63
Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump cast their votes on Election Day at on Nov. 8, 2016, in New York City. T
(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
22/63
A voter carries in her mail-in ballot to her polling station Nov. 8, 2016, in Tempe, Ariz.
(Matt York / AP)
23/63
Libertarian vice presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, arrives to cast his vote at the John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Canton, Mass., on Nov. 8, 2016.
(Michael Dwyer / AP)
24/63
A voter leaves the East Midwood Jewish Center polling station after casting his ballot in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on Nov. 8, 2016.
(Angela Weiss / AFP/Getty Images)
25/63
Workers prepare the room for Donald Trump for his election night party at the New York Hilton Midtown on Nov. 8, 2016, in New York City.
(Joe Raedle / Getty Images)
26/63
Shafqat Chaudhry waits to get his ballot at the Croatian Cultural Center in the West Ridge neighborhood of Chicago on Nov. 8, 2016.
(Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune)
27/63
Voters wait in line outside a polling location before the polls open at Briles Schoolhouse in Peoria Township near Ottawa, Kansas, on Nov. 8, 2016.
(Larry W. Smith / EPA)
28/63
Voters arrive at the Mission by the Sea Church to cast their ballots on Nov. 8, 2016, in Alligator Point, Florida.
(Mark Wallheiser / Getty Images)
29/63
Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) is accompanied by daughter Kate Daley, 12, son Jacob Daley, 9, and husband Joe Daley as she walks to cast her vote at Charlotte Avenue Elementary School on Nov. 8, 2016, in Nashua, New Hampshire.
(Kayana Szymczak / Getty Images)
30/63
Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, greet supporters after voting in Chappaqua, N.Y., on Nov. 8, 2016.
(Seth Wenig / AP)
31/63
Tim Kaine, D-Va., and his wife, Anne Holton carry their ballot to the tally machine after voting in Richmond, Va., on Nov. 8, 2016.
(Steve Helber / AP)
32/63
Voters wait in line to vote in the presidential election before the polls opened at the North Cincinnati Community Church in Ohio on Nov. 8, 2016.
(Mark Lyons / EPA)
33/63
Virginia residents wait in line in the pre-dawn hours to vote in the the 2016 presidential election before the polls open at an historic property called the “Hunter House” at Nottoway Park in Vienna, Virginia, on Nov. 8, 2016.
(Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA)
34/63
A line of voters stretches around the block while waiting to cast their ballots at a polling site in New York as One World Trade Center stands at left in the background on Nov. 8, 2016.
(David Goldman / AP)
35/63
People wait in line to vote at a poll station in Arlington, Virginia, on Nov. 8, 2016.
(Andrew Caballero-Reynolds, AFP/Getty Images)
36/63
Donald Trump arrives for his final campaign rally on Election Day in the Devos Place on Nov. 8, 2016, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
37/63
Hillary Clinton speaks at a rally at Independence Mall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 07, 2016.
(Brendan Smialowski, AFP/Getty Images)
38/63
Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama greet supporters during a campaign rally on Independence Mall on Nov. 7, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
(Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
39/63
Donald Trump’s campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, left, and his daughter Tiffany Trump attend Trump’s final campaign rally on Election Day in the Devos Place on Nov. 8, 2016, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
40/63
Jon Bon Jovi and Lady Gaga perform during a campaign rally for Hillary Clinton in Raleigh, N.C., on Nov. 8, 2016.
(Gerry Broome / AP)
41/63
A line of early voters waits outside the Franklin County Board of Elections on Nov. 7, 2016, in Columbus, Ohio.
(John Minchillo / AP)
42/63
Hillary Clinton speaks during a campaign rally on Nov. 7, 2016, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
(Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
43/63
Donald Trump holds up a rubber mask of himself during a campaign rally in the Robarts Arena at the Sarasota Fairgrounds on Nov. 7, 2016, in Sarasota, Florida.
(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
44/63
Supporters look on as Hillary Clinton speaks during a campaign rally Nov. 7, 2016, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
(Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
45/63
Hillary Clinton boards her campaign plane at Westchester County Airport on Nov. 7, 2016, in White Plains, New York.
(Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
46/63
Donald Trump checks the time during a rally at Loudon Fairgrounds in Leesburg, Virginia, on Nov. 7, 2016.
(Michael Reynolds / EPA)
47/63
Donald Trump steps off of his airplane after arriving for a campaign rally at Pittsburgh International Airport on Nov. 6, 2016 in Moon Township, Pennsylvania.
(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
48/63
Khizr Khan speaks during a campaign rally with Hillary Clinton at The Armory on Nov. 6, 2016, in Manchester, New Hampshire.
(Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
49/63
Hillary Clinton boards her plane at Burke Lakefront Airport on Nov. 6, 2016, in Cleveland, Ohio.
(Brendan Smialowski, AFP/Getty Images)
50/63
Donald Trump supporters arrive for a campaign stop at a hangar at the Minneapolis International Airport on Nov. 6, 2016, in Minneapolis.
(Charles Rex Arbogast / AP)
51/63
A young supporter cries as Hillary Clinton speaks during a get-out-the-vote concert featuring Katy Perry at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts on Nov. 5, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
(Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
52/63
Secret Service agents rush Donald Trump off the stage at a campaign rally in Reno, Nev., on Nov. 5, 2016.
(John Locher / AP)
53/63
Barack Obama walks toward Marine One as he departs the White House on Nov. 6, 2016, in Washington, D.C., on his way to Orlando, Fla., to campaign for for Hillary Clinton.
(Olivier Douliery / AFP/Getty Images)
54/63
Donald Trump supporter Earl Hood of Ft. Luton, Colorado, waits for Trump to address a capacity crowd during a campaign rally at the National Western Complex in Denver on Nov. 5, 2016.
(Jason Connolly / AFP/Getty Images)
55/63
ST GEORGE, UT - NOVEMBER 05: A supporter of U.S. independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin, holds a sign at a rally on November 5, 2016 in St. George, Utah. McMullin held campaign rallies in five small towns throughout southern Utah today. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images) ** OUTS - ELSENT, FPG, CM - OUTS * NM, PH, VA if sourced by CT, LA or MoD ** (George Frey / Getty Images)
56/63
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, seen in reflection, greets people outside an early voting center in West Miami, Fla., Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016.
(Andrew Harnik / AP)
57/63
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump holds up 6-month-old Catalina Larkin, of Largo, Fla., during a campaign rally Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016, in Tampa, Fla.
(Chris O’Meara / AP)
58/63
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks during a rally, Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016, in Pembroke Pines, Fla.
(Wilfredo Lee / AP)
59/63
Jim Lovel of St. Petersburg, Fla., gets his service dog “Henry the Dog” to bark before a speech by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016, in Tampa, Fla.
(Chris O’Meara / AP)
60/63
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Florida State Fairgrounds, on Nov. 5, 2016, in Tampa, Fla.
(Evan Vucci / AP)
61/63
A young girl stands next to a large Dominican Republic flag as Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton greets people outside an early voting center in West Miami, Fla.,Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016.
(Andrew Harnik / AP)
62/63
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump kisses his wife Melania as she introduces him at a campaign rally Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016, in Wilmington, N.C.
(John Bazemore / AP)
63/63
Members of the audience stand in the rain before Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton takes the stage at a rally at C.B. Smith Park in Pembroke Pines, Fla., Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016.
(Andrew Harnik / AP)
Obama also may have to acknowledge to all of them, particularly Chinese President Xi Jinping, that the Trump-led government may not live up to the obligations of the global climate deal he pushed and that Obama and Xi jump-started with their own agreement two years ago.
And the South Korean and Japanese delegation will surely want to talk about Trump’s suggestions during the campaign that it might be a good idea for their countries to obtain nuclear weapons.
Trump’s nuclear policy remains elusive. He denied Sunday that he had recommended Japan or South Korea arm themselves with nuclear weapons, though he said so in a forum in March during a discussion of how to counter North Korea’s efforts to obtain nuclear weapons.
“I have absolutely no idea” what Trump’s view is, said James Acton, a nuclear specialist at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “And neither, I strongly suspect, does he.”
Advertisement
Trump has also said some allies don’t pay enough to support U.S. military bases in their countries and suggested that perhaps the bases should close.
1/28
In this image released by CBS News, 60 MINUTES Correspondent Lesley Stahl interviews President-elect Donald J. Trump at his home, Friday, Nov. 11, 2016, in New York.
(Chris Albert / AP)
2/28
Donald Trump gives a speech during election night at the New York Hilton Midtown in New York on Nov. 9, 2016.
(Mandel Ngan / AFP/Getty Images)
3/28
Donald Trump speaks during the final day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland on July 21, 2016.
(Carolyn Kaster / AP)
4/28
Rev. Faith Green Timmons interrupts Donald Trump as he speaks during a visit to Bethel United Methodist Church on Sept. 14, 2016, in Flint, Mich.
(Evan Vucci / AP)
5/28
Donald Trump speaks during the presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., on Sept. 26, 2016.
(Patrick Semansky / AP)
6/28
Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally Oct. 3, 2016, in Loveland, Colo.
(Evan Vucci / AP)
7/28
Gov. Mike Pence joins Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a rally in Westfield, Ind., on July 12, 2016.
(Michael Conroy / AP)
8/28
Donald Trump, right, speaks during a press conference with President of Mexico Enrique Pena Nieto in Los Pinos, Mexico City, on Aug. 31, 2016.
(Jorge Nunez / EPA)
9/28
Donald Trump speaks with the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board on June 29, 2015.
(Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune)
10/28
Donald Trump speaks at the City Club of Chicago to a sold-out crowd June 29, 2015.
(Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
11/28
Donald Trump testifies during a civil case at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on March 10, 2014.
(Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
12/28
Donald Trump, right, shakes hands with Mitt Romney after announcing his endorsement of Romney at Trump International Hotel & Tower on Feb. 2, 2012 in Las Vegas.
(Stan Honda AFP/Getty Images)
13/28
Donald Trump speaks to the media at Pease International Trade Port on April 27, 2011, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
(Matthew Cavanaugh / Getty Images)
14/28
Donald Trump talks on the phone overlooking the north side of the city from the Trump tower before a news conference Sept. 24, 2008.
(Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
15/28
Donald Trump Jr., from left, Piers Morgan, Donald Trump and Ivanka Trump pose during the finale of “The Celebrity Apprentice” on March 27, 2008, in New York.
(Ali Goldstein / AP)
16/28
Donald Trump talks about his 92-story Trump International Hotel & Tower during a news conference on construction progress in Chicago on May 24, 2007.
(Charles Rex Arbogast / AP)
17/28
WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, center, held by “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, has his hair cut off by Donald Trump, left, and Bobby Lashley, right, at Wrestlemania 23 at Ford Field in Detroit on April 1, 2007.
(Carlos Osorio / AP)
18/28
Donald Trump and Miss USA Tara Conner pose during a press conference at Trump Tower on Dec. 19, 2006, in New York City.
(Brad Barket / Getty Images)
19/28
Donald Trump holds a news conference at Trump Tower in New York on May 18, 2005, to introduce his proposed Twin Towers II, an alternative to the Freedom Tower design that was approved by the city to be built on Ground Zero.
(Timothy A. Clary, AFP/Getty Images)
20/28
Donald Trump crosses the Wabash Avenue bridge to lord over the start of the demolition of the Sun-Times building in Chicago on Oct. 28, 2004.
(Scott Strazzante / Chicago Tribune)
21/28
Donald Trump shakes hands with hopefuls waiting in line at open auditions for “The Apprentice 2,” which drew a large crowd March 18, 2004, in New York.
(Frank Franklin II / AP)
22/28
Donald Trump announces the sale of condos on Sept. 23, 2003. His planned Trump Tower of Chicago, will be built on the site of the Sun-Times building on the Chicago River.
(Alex Garcia / Chicago Tribune)
23/28
Donald Trump holds a driver on the 11th green of his Ocean Trails Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., on Nov. 9, 2002.
(Damian Dovarganes / AP)
24/28
Donald Trump, left, and Melania Knauss sing the seventh inning stretch rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” on July 9, 2000, at Wrigley Field.
(John Smierciak / Chicago Tribune)
25/28
Cubs star Sammy Sosa, second from left, is flanked by his mother Mireya Sosa and wife Sonia Sosa as they pose with Donald Trump on Nov. 12, 1999, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
(John Riley / AP)
26/28
Donald Trump waves to pedestrians as he exits the Federal Building in downtown Indianapolis on March 2, 1999.
(Rich Miller / AP)
27/28
Donald Trump in New York on April 9, 1991.
(Luiz Ribeiro / AP)
28/28
Donald Trump raises his fist during ceremonies for the opening the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J., on April 5, 1990.
(Charles Rex Arbogast / AP)
“We defend Japan. We defend Germany. We defend South Korea. We defend Saudi Arabia,” Trump said during one presidential debate. “They do not pay us what they should be paying us.”
Obama may not want to stoke fear, but he also shares those leaders’ concern about what is happening across the globe.
Following his meeting with Trump in the Oval Office on Thursday, aides to the president were reluctant to speculate about whether Trump will dial back from his campaign rhetoric.
“I’ll let the president-elect and his team discuss what their plans are,” Earnest said. “But certainly our allies should understand the longstanding history in this country about the way that we not just maintain but actually advance our alliances around the world.”
Michael A. Memoli worked in the Los Angeles Times’ Washington, D.C., bureau from 2010-17, where he covered the White House, the 2016 presidential campaign, and national politics based in D.C. (plus a dozen or so swing states in presidential election years). A New Jersey native, he graduated from Loyola University in Maryland.
