Barack Obama speech: President says he’s rooting for Donald Trump despite their political differences

Mr Obama has not tried to hide his disdain for the man who will succeed him

The man who has served as America’s 44th president has offered his congratulations to the person elected to serve as its 45th.

“We are all rooting for his success,” Barack Obama said of Donald Trump, speaking at the White House on Wednesday morning.

It was a speech that could not have been been easy for Mr Obama to make. It was Mr Trump who was the force behind the so-called birther campaign, which sought to raise doubts about whether the President had been born in the US.

Mr Obama has not tried to hide his disdain for the man who will succeed him (AP)

Throughout the campaign, the two men levelled accusations and insults at each other. Mr Obama said that the New York tycoon was “uniquely unqualified to be president of the US”. In turn, Mr Trump blamed Mr Obama for many of the woes in the world, and went as far as to accuse him of being the founder of Isis.

Speaking in the Rose Garden alongside Vice-President Joe Biden, Mr Obama said it was no secret that he disagreed with Mr Trump on a number of issues. As it is, Mr Obama will host Mr Trump at the White House on Thursday when the two men meet to discuss the transition process.

“But eight years ago, I made similar disagreements with President Bush,” he said. “Yet President Bush could not have been more graceful.”

He said the peaceful transition of power was a feature of the US political system.

“Election campaigns are tough. But the day after, we are all on one team. We are not Democrats first, or Republicans first, but Americans first, we are patriots first.”

He added: “We all want the best for our country.”