Obama starts defining his new role in the age of Trump

Former President Barack Obama is starting to define his new role in the age of Donald Trump. (Photo: Marc Nozell/Flickr)

WASHINGTON — Former President Barack Obama is starting to define his new role in the age of Donald Trump.

After dropping out of sight for a pair of glamorous island getaways, Obama is emerging for a series of paid and unpaid speeches, drawing sharp contrasts with Trump even as he avoids saying the new president’s name.

Obama is wielding his influence overseas, offering his support for some of the international political candidates who are clamouring for his endorsement. His aides are engaging in a real-time political combat with Trump, including revealing that Obama personally warned his successor against tapping Micael Flynn as national security adviser.

Obama’s swift return to the spotlight has been cheered by some Democrats, who are still sifting through the wreckage of the party’s defeats in the November election.