Obama may break convention and comment on Trump presidency

Barack Obama has suggested that he may weigh into debates on Donald Trump's presidency when the Republican moves into the Oval Office in 2017, potentially breaking with decades of presidential convention.

The outgoing president said that he would be respectful of the office but couldn't guarantee that he would abstain from commenting on his policies if they were against American ideals.

Former Apprentice star Trump spent the weekend sifting through potential candidates for his executive team, with several key positions still to be decided.

Obama was speaking at an event in Lima which brought together the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group.

"I want to be respectful of the office and give the president-elect an opportunity to put forward his platform and his arguments without somebody popping off," he said.

However, he went on to say that if Trump's actions are having an impact on "core questions about our values and our ideals, and if I think that it's necessary or helpful for me to defend those ideals, then I'll examine it when it comes."

Obama was repeatedly critical of the president-elect during his election campaign, making speeches for his opponent Hillary Clinton in several key states.

The two men met last week in the White House to speak about the transition for Trump and his team, which both said was a constructive meeting.