At a press conference Sunday night in Lima, Peru, President Barack Obama hinted that even after leaving office on Jan. 20, and peacefully transitioning power to the incoming Donald Trump administration, he may not remain quiet.
According to the Daily Intelligencer, Obama said that he intends to “be respectful of the office and give the president-elect an opportunity to put forward his platform and his arguments without somebody popping off in every instance.” Obama noted how “gracious” former President George W. Bush had been after Obama’s inauguration.
But he added that he may find it necessary to vocally support and help rebuild the party he has led for eight years in ways his predecessors never did.
“As an American citizen who cares deeply about our country, if there are issues that have less to do with the specifics of some legislative proposal but go to core questions about our values and our ideals,” Obama said, “and if I think that it is necessary or helpful for me to defend those ideals, I’ll examine it when it comes.”