Obama deems American democracy 'bigger than any one person' during final foreign trip

(Image credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

published 16 November 2016

President Barack Obama promoted peaceful transitions of power and the values of democracy from Athens on his final foreign trip as president Wednesday, Politico reports. "As you may have noticed, the next American president and I could not be more different," Obama said. "We have very different points of view, but American democracy is bigger than any one person."

Obama listed the freedom of speech and worship, freedom of the press, and the separation of powers as values shared by the democracies of Greece and the U.S., perhaps as a pointed jab at Donald Trump, whom Obama had previously deemed "uniquely unqualified" to be president. But "after the election, democracy depends on a peaceful transition of power, especially when you don't get the results you want," Obama said.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.