Don’t make the same mistake I did, President Barack Obama seemed to be advising European leaders last week.

Obama is on his last big trip abroad as president. Part of his purpose, as White House aides confirm, is to reassure European leaders President-elect Donald Trump will keep key mutual defense commitments such as those involving NATO.

But in Athens on Nov. 15, Obama reflected a bit during a joint press conference with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipiras.

Trump’s election and the British referendum on leaving the European Union were reflections of concern by many people that their leaders’ visions of progress may not serve the people, Obama said. In short, they demonstrated “people’s fears that their children won’t do as well as they have.”

“The more aggressively and effectively we deal with those issues, the less those fears may channel themselves into counterproductive approaches that can pit people against each other,” Obama advised.

Well. As usual, the president seems to have adopted a patronizing attitude toward those hurt badly by his initiatives.

What Obama seems to be realizing just now is that voters become upset when they feel their government is pursuing self-defined lofty goals with little or no worry about people getting hurt by them.

Unfortunately, Obama got away with just that for nearly eight years.