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"No way!" Trump
countered in a tweet, citing as liabilities U.S. companies
taking jobs overseas, the fight against Islamic State militants
and Obama's signature healthcare law.
Barred by the U.S. Constitution from seeking a third
four-year-term, the president told his former adviser David
Axelrod in a podcast that Americans would have backed Obama's
vision.
"I'm confident that if I had run again and articulated it, I
think I could've mobilized a majority of the American people to
rally behind it," Obama said, referring to his 2008 campaign
message of hope and change.
A wealthy businessman, the Republican Trump will assume his
first public office when he succeeds Obama on Jan. 20. He
defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton on Nov. 8 with a promise to
clean up Washington.
In a tweet, Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon said Obama would have
beaten Trump and Clinton would have won if not for an FBI
statement shortly before the election disclosing new material on
Clinton's email practices as secretary of state.
Clinton's aides have said FBI Director James Comey's
announcement, which led to no charges, swung the election, a
charge Trump's team has dismissed.
Obama said Clinton "performed wonderfully under really tough
circumstances." He said she focused on Trump's flaws and could
have argued more that the Democratic Party agenda helped working
people.
Trump garnered more than 270 of the 538 state-by-state electoral
votes to win the presidency. Clinton won 48.2 percent of the
popular vote compared with 46.1 percent for Trump, according to
the Associated Press.
(Reporting and writing by Emily Stephenson with Obama in Hawaii;
Additional reporting by Susan Heavey in Washington; Editing by
Howard Goller)
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