Tom Barrack, who is chairing the Presidential Inaugural Committee, urged people on Tuesday to give President-elect Donald Trump a chance and said the quadrennial event will be a peaceful transition of power and not some sort of accommodation to authoritarian rule.
“This inauguration is not about laying adulation to a dictator. It’s about we, the people,” Mr. Barrack said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “So, it’s very different.”
“This idea of [an] inauguration, right … the only democratic peaceful transition of partisan power in the world is a moment to display to the world,” he said. “Look what’s happening in the world. I mean, it’s a nightmare, right? Everywhere.”
“Everybody’s jumping to conclusions. He’s better than his billing. Give him a chance,” Mr. Barrack said.
He also said President Obama was a “great guy” and “did the best job that he could.”
“535 other people had a massive input to what he had,” Mr. Barrack said. “So celebrating him on the way out is a great thing.”
“He wasn’t a celebrity. He needs that celebrity support. He’s certainly a celebrity now,” he said.
“And President-elect Trump is a celebrity … he wants the celebrity backing,” Mr. Barrack said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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