President Barack Obama is making good his promise to help Donald Trump get familiar with what he will soon face in the Oval Office.
The two men have spoken a “handful of times” since they first met two days after the election, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Monday.
Five times? Four times? Earnest declined to say.
But the president and the president-elect did speak for 45 minutes Saturday after Obama returned a call from Trump.
“The president-elect indicated a desire to seek President Obama's advice and counsel repeatedly,” Earnest said. “And President Obama made clear that he stood ready to offer that advice because of his underlying enduring commitment to a smooth and effective transition from the Obama presidency into the next.”
No word on what the two men spoke about.
“They've been talking regularly on any number of issues,” Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday. “I can tell you from President-elect Trump's side that he very much enjoys speaking with President Obama, talking about the serious issues that face this country and the world. They get along nicely.”
It was only a few weeks ago that Obama said Trump wasn’t fit for the presidency, blasting his temperament and policies.
“I'm not aware that the president has changed his assessment, but I can tell you that the president is committed to living up to the responsibility that he has as the president of the United States to put the interests of the country ahead of his own political preferences,” Earnest said.
Anita Kumar: 202-383-6017, @anitakumar01