VOA常速英语:Obama to Trump: US Leadership ‘Indispensable’(翻译)

President Barack Obama met with the leaders of the 21 Asia Pacific Economic Conference,still expressing his support for international trade and the Trans-Pacific Partnership,while conceding it is not up to him anymore.At the end of the final news conference of the trip,Obama had some sobering words of advice for the incoming president,saying America is indispensable in protecting world order and ensuring peace and stability.

“If we are not on the side of what’s right,if we are not making the argument and fighting for it even if sometimes we are not able to deliver a hundred percent everywhere,then it collapses.And there is nobody to fill the void.”

Asked if he would refrain from criticizing Trump when he takes office,Obama said he planned to take his wife Michelle on vacation,and he would be respectful and give the new president space.But he said he might speak out if he believed core values were threatened.

On Saturday,Obama got a rock star’s welcome from 1,000 young leaders from all over Latin America and the Caribbean at a university in Lima.He sought to reassure everyone in his young audience and asked them not to assume the worst of Trump.

“Democracy means that sometimes you have to compromise,and it means that the outcomes of elections don’t always turn out the way you would hope.”

During his farewell overseas trip,Obama told travel guide book publisher Lonely Planet that the millions of miles he traveled during his eight years in office and the young people he met all over the world give him hope for the future.

Cindy Saine, VOA News, Lima.