US President Barack Obama has said he will weigh in as a citizen if the Trump administration challenges values he holds dear.
Speaking in Peru as he wrapped up his last foreign trip as president, which was dominated by Donald Trump's surprise win in the US presidential election, Mr Obama encouraged Democrats to work with the new president.
He campaigned extensively for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton before the 8 November election and warned during the campaign that President-elect Trump lacked the temperament and qualifications to be president.
Speaking at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Lima, President Obama said: "People should take a 'wait and see approach'" in how much Mr Trump's policy proposals once in the White House matches up with some of the rhetoric of his campaign.
"I can’t guarantee that the President-elect won’t pursue some of the positions that he’s taken. But what I can guarantee is that reality will force him to adjust how he approaches many of these issues. That's just the way this office works," Mr Obama said.
Mr Trump yesterday assessed several more contenders for top US posts including Chris Christie and Rudy Giuliani, as blunt-spoken retired Marine Corps General James Mattis emerged as a leading candidate for defence secretary.
Mr Trump held meetings at his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey, with candidates for senior administration jobs after he takes office on 20 January.
On Saturday, he conferred with General Mattis and Mitt Romney, formerly a fierce Trump critic now under consideration for secretary of state.
Summing up two days of talks as he said goodbye to retired US Marines Corps general John Kelly yesterday evening, Mr Trump said he had made decisions on a couple of appointments.
"We really had some great meetings, and you'll be hearing about them soon."
Mr Trump discussed the treasury secretary job with Jon Gray, a board member of the Blackstone Group, two sources familiar with their meeting said.
A Trump transition team statement said their discussion included the US economy, global capital markets and the world financial situation, as well as tax reform and long-term debt.
The last person Mr Trump escorted out of the clubhouse was Mr Giuliani, the former New York mayor. Mr Trump said earlier that Mr Giuliani was a candidate for secretary of state "and other things".
The Trump team statement said Mr Trump and Mr Giuliani discussed "administration priorities" as well as "restoring America's prominence in the world, ongoing national security issues and threats at various hotspots on a global basis."
Mr Christie, the Republican governor of New Jersey, advised Mr Trump during the presidential campaign but was dismissed as the head of his transition team.
Asked by reporters before the meeting whether there was a place for Mr Christie in his administration, Mr Trump side stepped the question but called him "a very talented man, great guy".
Mr Trump met billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, who he said was under consideration for commerce secretary. Asked whether he wanted the job, Mr Ross told reporters: "Well, time will tell."
Mr Trump also received Jonathan Gray, the global head of real estate at the Blackstone Group, who is being considered for treasury secretary, according to a person briefed on the matter.
The President-elect has already tapped three senior leaders of his national security and law enforcement teams, choosing US Senator Jeff Sessions for attorney general, US Representative Mike Pompeo as CIA director, and retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn as national security adviser.
The selections so far suggest that Mr Trump, true to his campaign promises, intends to steer national security and foreign policy in a sharply different direction from that of President Obama, whose record Mr Trump harshly criticised during his campaign.
In another sign of Mr Trump's novel approach to politics, the New York businessman who has never held public office said he planned to live in the White House but that his wife, Melania, and their ten-year-old son, Barron, would not move in immediately.
He said they would move from New York to the White House "very soon, right after he finishes school".
