President Barack Obama said Monday that he still has concerns about the president-elect's temperament, but that he believes Donald Trump could control his impulses for the sake of the office.
The sitting president stood by his pre-election warning that Trump — whom Obama called "gregarious" and somebody who "likes to mix it up" — could make some rash decisions in office. But he softened his tone on those dangers by likening Trump's alleged temperament issues with Obama's own "bad filing, sorting and organizing habits."
The solution to both of their problems, Obama suggested, is establishing a system and working with the right people.
"I think what will happen with the president-elect is there are going to be certain elements of his temperament that will not serve him well unless he recognizes them and corrects them, because when you're a candidate and you say something that is inaccurate and controversial, it has less impact than it does when you're president of the United States," Obama said.
"Everybody around the world is paying attention, markets move, national security issues require a level of precision in order to make sure that you don't make mistakes," Obama added. "And I think he recognizes that this is different, and so do the American people."
Obama also suggested that Trump could be well served during his tenure in the White House by his pragmatism — "as long as he's got good people around him and he's got a clear sense of direction."
But the president was not entirely optimistic about his replacement.
"Do I have concerns? Absolutely, of course I've got concerns. He and I differ on a whole bunch of issues," Obama said.