“Well, I'm less likely to get involved in all the nuts and bolts of electioneering. In that realm, I'm much more likely to just give advice," President Barack Obama says. | Getty Obama: I want to develop a new generation of Democratic talent

With his days in the White House numbered, President Barack Obama has begun considering the role he will play in rebuilding the Democratic Party after it was left nearly shattered by Donald Trump’s surprising win in last month's election.

Speaking to NPR in an interview recorded last week and aired Monday on "Morning Edition," Obama accepted some responsibility for his party’s failure to retain some of the rural and Rust Belt voters who supported him in 2008 and 2012 but voted for Trump. He said Democrats are by nature more attracted to addressing nationwide and international issues, a tendency that has allowed Republicans in recent years to build “from the ground up” in small, local races.


“We've ceded too much territory” on local and state-level issues, Obama said. “One of the big suggestions that I have for Democrats as I leave, and something that, you know, I have some ideas about is, how do we do more of that ground-up building?”

Discussing rural voters, the president said he benefited from having run for Senate in Illinois, where he was forced to win over down-state voters skeptical of Chicagoans. That experience helped him in 2008 as he campaigned in Iowa ahead of that state’s caucuses, which he won. Other Democrats, Obama said, have not been as visible in rural parts of the country and as such, the party has lost touch with those voters.

Obama reiterated that he has “promised Michelle a nice vacation” and that he plans to take some time to spend with his family once leaving office, but he said he sees a role for himself in rebuilding the party he led from the White House for eight years. The president said he expects to take on an advisory role that will shape up as some combination of talent scout, friend and coach.

“Well, I'm less likely to get involved in all the nuts and bolts of electioneering. In that realm, I'm much more likely to just give advice. What I am interested in is just developing a whole new generation of talent,” he said. “That's something that I think I can do well, I think Michelle can do well. That's part of what makes me optimistic about our future, because I know those young people are out there ready to lead, and when they start moving into more and more positions of authority, then I think the issues that I care most deeply about are going to be well served.”

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