Obama to Trump: The White House Cannot Be Run Like a Family Business

Barack Obama, the President of the United States, has told Donald Trump that the White House cannot be run like a "family business." In an interview with ABC, Obama stated that he is trying to make the President-elect understand that governing is different from running a campaign, and from now on, "capitals, people around the world, and financial markets will take his words seriously." He added that Trump should appreciate the fact that he will soon step into the White House after taking the oath of office and should understand that he will be responsible for managing the largest organization on earth. Obama further mentioned that Trump should show "respect" to U.S. institutions and have a strong team by his side. This interview comes as Obama is gradually preparing to leave the White House, with Donald Trump officially taking power in the U.S. on January 20. Obama also discussed the importance of trust in the activities and reports of U.S. intelligence agencies with Trump, indicating that there will come a time when the only way to make the right decision will be to trust these agencies. Recently, U.S. intelligence agencies informed Trump about Russia's role in cyber attacks during the recent presidential election campaign. According to their reports, Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, personally issued the "order" for these attacks to undermine Hillary Clinton, the Republican nominee. In response to this report, Trump defended establishing "good" relations with Russia but stated in a statement that he has "great respect" for the activities of U.S. intelligence agencies. Trump had previously also mentioned that "China, other countries, groups, and individuals" have continuously attempted to hack U.S. institutions and organizations, including the Democratic Party committee. Kellyanne Conway, Trump's spokesperson, stated that the American people did not have a favorable opinion of Hillary Clinton before the U.S. intelligence agencies' report, and that the Russian cyber attacks did not affect the outcome of the presidential election. During his campaign, Donald Trump referred to the nuclear agreement with Iran and six world powers as one of the "worst" agreements and stated that his priority is to discard this agreement. In response to Trump's remarks, Barack Obama said that he will ultimately recognize the values of the nuclear agreement made by six world powers with Iran.