Earnest says Obama 'would be happy' to give Trump more advice

Former President Barack Obama “would be happy to” continue offering advice to his successor as he did throughout the transition between their administrations, Obama’s former press secretary said Monday.

Josh Earnest, the Obama-era White House spokesman and newly minted NBC News political analyst, said he is not aware of any communication between his former boss and President Donald Trump since Inauguration Day. The two spoke multiple times during the transition and Trump, who got his start in politics as the most prominent voice of the so-called birther conspiracy theory and spent years antagonizing Obama, was strikingly cordial once the two men met face to face.


“I'm not aware they've had conversations since President Trump took office, but the telephone line still works so if he wants advice or insight, I'm confident that President Obama, who's interested in the success of the country, would be happy to share his experience with President Trump,” Earnest said on NBC’s “Today” show.

In his capacity as press secretary, Earnest was cagey about the nature of conversations between Trump and Obama, insisting that members of the presidential fraternity be able to candidly and privately seek the advice of one another. Trump, in an interview last December on the “Today” show, disclosed that he had sought Obama’s advice on Cabinet appointments, although he did not disclose which candidates he specifically asked about.

While the transitional relationship between the two men seemed relatively warm, Trump has since returned to attacking his predecessor, most notably by alleging that Obama ordered an illegal wiretap of Trump Tower during the 2016 election. Obama has flatly denied that allegation, and neither Trump, nor any other White House official, has offered evidence to support the claim. Both Republican and Democratic members of the House and Senate intelligence committees also have said they have seen no proof of the president’s accusation.