I would have won against Trump, says Barack Obama

President Barack Obama expressed confidence that he would have been able to marshal enough support to defeat Donald Trump if he had been eligible to run for a third term.

In an interview by CNN, the President, who will hand over the White House to Trump on January 20, said, "I am confident in this vision because I'm confident that if I had run again and articulated it, I think I could've mobilised a majority of the American people to rally behind it."

Obama also said that many people around the country, including opponents, keep telling him that the vision and direction of his message is the correct one, Efe reports.

Obama said that the Republicans were only able to engage in an exercise in disunity, insisting that Trump's victory does not show that the dreams of "one America that is tolerant and diverse and open" have failed.

Obama, who has announced that he will remain in Washington until his younger daughter finishes high school, said that after leaving the White House he intends to keep a low profile but he will speak out on important issues because he is still a "citizen" who has duties and obligations.

In the November 8 election, Trump beat his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton due to the Electoral College voting system, but the former First Lady handily won the popular vote by more than three million ballots.