President Barack Obama delivered a series of patronizing backhanded compliments to President-Elect Donald Trump on Monday during a lengthy White House press conference conducted before his final trip abroad as America's leader.

While he praised Trump for pulling off 'one of the biggest political upsets in history,' Obama scolded his Republican successor for believing he can deliver on his campaign promises.

'I think that he successfully mobilized a big chunk of the country to vote for him,' Obama told reporters.

But 'regardless of what experience or assumptions he brought to the office, this office has a way of waking you up.'

'And those aspects of his positions or predispositions that don't match up with reality, he will find shaken up pretty quick. Because reality has a way of asserting itself.'

President Barack Obama on Monday dismissed the idea that President-Elect Donald Trump can accomplish what he set out to when he moves into the White House in January

An unapologetic Trump campaigned on ambitious pledges – mostly to dismantle Obama's legacy – but the outgoing president patronized him during a lengthy press conference

Trump campaigned on an no-holds-barred agenda of dismantling much of Obama's agenda including immigration reforms put in place without congressional input, a widely criticized Iranian nuclear deal and an Obamacare system whose pilings have grown shaky.

But the president suggested the billionaire's poetic rallies can never jive with Washington's messier prose.

'I think it'll be important for him to have the room, to staff up, to figure out what his priorites are, to be able to distinguish between what he was campaigning on and what is practical – what he can actually achieve,' Obama cautioned.

'You know, there are certain things that made for good good soundbites, but don't always translate into good policy. And that's something that he and his team will wrestle with in the same way every president wrestles with.'

Ultimately, Obama hinted, he believes Trump is more a realist than a principled conservative – despite connecting with a previously disengaged voting base on the strength of broad promises.

Obama spoke to reporters before leaving for his final overseas trip as president, and they had questions aplenty about his Republican successor

Trump promised to repeal and replace Obamacare, scuttle the White House's Iran nuclear deal, roll back a list of immigration executive orders and 'drain the swamp' in Washington

'I think that connection that he was able to make with his supporters – that was impervious to events that might have sunk another candidate – that's powerful stuff,' Obama said.

'I also think that he is coming to this office with fewer set hard-and-fast policy prescriptions than a lot of other presidents might be arriving with.'

Trump beat Hillary Clinton decisively by vowing to repeal and replace government-controlled medical insurance, upend eight years of foreign policy and dismantle corrupt revolving doors between government and the lobbying class.

Obama suggested it was all an act, and seemed to admonish Trump not to trust his own instincts in the Oval Office.

'I don't think he is ideological,' the president said. 'I think ultimately he's pragmatic in that way. And that can serve him well as long as he's got good people around him and he has a clear sense of direction.'

He also implied that Trump's forceful attitude could get him in trouble quickly.

'Whatever you bring to this office, this office has a habit of magnifying and pointing out. And hopefully then you correct for it,' he said.

The president complimented Trump on his upset victory over Hillary Clinton but scolded him for thinking he can actually get things done in the Oval Office

'There are going to be certain elements of his temperament that will not serve him well unless he recognizes them and corrects them,' Obama continued.

'Because when you're a candidate and you say something that is inaccurate or controversial, it has less impact than it does when you're President of the United States. Everybody is paying attention. Markets move.'

'National security issues require a level of precision in order to make sure that you don't make mistakes. And I think he recognizes that this is different. And so do the American people,' Obama said.

The president said that while he still has 'concerns' about turning the White House over to a brash Republican who attacked him vigorously for more than 16 months, two factors are likely to slow Trump down.

One is the lethargy and intransigence of Washington itself – even though Trump will inherit a Congress run completely by the GOP.

Obama said Trump may find it difficult to reconcile what his screaming throngs expect from him on the one hand, and what Washington will practically permit on the other

'The federal government and our democracy is not a speedboat. It's an ocean liner, as I discovered when I came into office,' Obama said.

'It took a lot of really hard work for us to make significant policy changes, even in our first two years when we had larger majorities than Mr. Trump will enjoy when he comes into office.'

The other is a midterm election right around the corner that could dissolve his legislative majorities as quickly as Obama's disappeared in the 2010 tea party wave.

'I think he's going to try as best as he can to make sure that he delivers. Not only for the people who voted for him, but for the people at large,' Obama said.