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Former President Barack Obama and President Trump have not spoken once since the inauguration in January, Mr. Trump confirmed to The Washington Times, adding its too bad they havent been in communication, but he is not surprised given their history.

Mr. Trump also brushed aside Mr. Obamas recent public attacks on him, acknowledging his own barbs aimed at the man whose legacy he upended with his stunning election victory in November.

I wouldnt say Ive been exactly great to him either, Mr. Trump said by way of explanation.

In an interview from the Oval Office, Mr. Trump described how he has distanced himself from his Democratic predecessors approach to dealing with foreign leaders, ditching the occasionally chiding tone Mr. Obama took in favor of a more pragmatic dealmakers stance.

He said rebuilt relationships have already paid off in Asia, where China is bringing pressure on North Korea, and in the release of Aya Hijazi, an Egyptian-American charity worker who had been detained in Egypt for nearly three years.

Mr. Trump said he earned Ms. Hijazis release because he took time to build an understanding with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, repairing a relationship that had been strained by Mr. Obamas criticism of Cairos record on human rights and civil liberties under Mr. el-Sissi.

Mr. el-Sissi didnt like President Obama, not even a little bit. Didnt like him, Mr. Trump said.

One of the things Ive done in the first 100 days, Ive established great foundations for relationships. One of them is with Egypt, the president said. Theres a great case. I said to him, Mr. President, do me a favor. Release her. Shes innocent. Let her go. Is that better than Obama?

The two most dominant politicians of the past decade have never been on good terms, but Mr. Obama had, until recently, allowed Mr. Trump the stage for the beginning of his time in the White House.

That honeymoon appears to have ended when Mr. Obama forged a higher profile once again by holding a public event at the University of Chicago early last week and then accepting a reported $400,000 to appear at an A&E Networks advertising event, where he mocked Mr. Trump.

Mr. Obama said his signature health care law, Obamacare, is rating higher in polls than Mr. Trump, according to CNN.

When presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin asked Mr. Obama at the event how he had handled frustrating moments during his time in the White House, Mr. Obama replied, according to the New York Post, For starters, by not having a Twitter account.

Mr. Trump told The Washington Times that he wasnt fazed by the former presidents Twitter remark because he had been pointed in his own words against Mr. Obama.

Look, thats politics, he said.

Mr. Trump said he hasnt spoken to Mr. Obama in months.

Since I took office, no, the president said. Its too bad, but Im not totally surprised. Im disappointed when I look at the surveillance, Im very disappointed when I saw that.

Mr. Trump has accused the former administration of monitoring his and his teams actions in the waning days of the campaign over suspected ties to Russia an accusation that members of Congress are investigating as part of a broader look at meddling in the electoral process.

Mr. Trump, in the interview with The Times, defended his use of Twitter and other online platforms by saying its possible his mastery of the field is why he is sitting in the Oval Office today.

I think Ive used social media better than anybody in history, the businessman turned president said.

Its not Twitter, its really social media. Twitter bing, bing, I put it out and then everybody picks it up, he said, comparing it with the more traditional presidential outreach. If I send out a press release, Ill walk in, Ill dictate a press release, theyll put it out, you guys wont even see it.

Mr. Trump has upended the Washington establishment, and particularly the press corps assigned to cover him. The White House has democratized the briefing room, calling on outlets that were relegated to afterthoughts during much of the Obama administration.

And Mr. Trumps penchant for using Twitter and for keeping a frenetic schedule has left media outlets struggling to keep up.

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Donald Trump, Barack Obama have not spoken since Inauguration Day - Washington Times

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) participates in a discussion about legislation to halt the sale of some weapons to Saudi Arabia at the Center for the National Interest on Sept. 19, 2016 in Washington, D.C.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Sen. Rand Paul will teach students at George Washington University about dystopias next fall.

The Kentucky Republican's course will focus on "history of dystopian attitudes and how they relate to current events and political debates," according to the college's student newspaper, The Hatchet .

I am thrilled to have an opportunity to join the faculty and students at the George Washington University for the upcoming fall semester, Paul said through a spokesperson for the University, The Hatchet reports. The George Washington University is one of our nations leading higher education institutions and I look forward to my time in Foggy Bottom.

MORE: Rand Paul Says Donald Trump Is Gollum

The course will be called "Dystopian Visions," according to the George Washington course schedule. No books have been assigned yet, but Paul quoted from George Orwell's 1984 in his Senate filibuster on targeted killing of Americans on U.S. soil in 2013 and he told VICE that same year that he has long wanted to teach a class on the dystopian novels.

"I've talked about it, but unfortunately I keep developing other projects that get in the way," he told VICE. "I would like to do it someday. I think dystopian novels are a discussion of politics, and sort of what happens if you let a government accumulate too much power."

He picked a good time for the course. Since the election, sales of dystopian novels such as 1984 have spiked, with Hulu's adaption of The Handmaid's Tale driving renewed interest as well.

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Rand Paul Will Teach DC College Students About Dystopias - TIME

The Liberty Conservative

Sen. Rand Paul Comes Out In Favor Of President Trump's Tax Plan The Liberty Conservative President Donald Trump officially announced his tax plan last week, and he will need some powerful allies in the legislature if he hopes to get it passed. He already has one in Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who will put his conservative bonafides behind ... Exclusive Rand Paul: Real Men Cut TaxesBreitbart News What We Think Tax Reform Will Look LikeMorningstar.com all 3,739 news articles »

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Sen. Rand Paul Comes Out In Favor Of President Trump's Tax Plan - The Liberty Conservative

On the day before President Donald Trump hit his first 100 days, I woke up to a CNN headline that "we could end up having a major, major confrontation with North Korea."

I was tempted to go back to bed, but I persisted.

The news didn't make persistence easier. In another 100-days interview, this time with Reuters, the president wistfully lamented that his new job is "more work than in my previous life. I thought it would be easier." Now he tells us.

I could not help but draw a connection between this news and another story I was working on, an announcement by George Washington University that Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., will be teaching a class in the fall. The name of the class? "Dystopian Visions."

Is that an appropriate topic for these times or what?

In the relentless crush of daily news, I am not surprised by the notion that many readers would seek refuge in the works of writers whose perspective is not limited to the factual world.

Think of dystopia as the opposite of utopia, a very unpleasant place where people lead dehumanized lives under the heel of autocratic elites who profess to be creating a utopia.

After Trump's election to the White House, booksellers reported a surge in sales of such perennial favorites as "1984," "Brave New World" and "The Handmaid's Tale" a miniseries version of which has been streaming on Hulu. Recent years have seen a wave of new dystopian fiction, such as "The Giver," "The Hunger Games" series and the "Divergent" series in the young adult book and movie markets. Novelist Junot Diaz calls dystopia "the default narrative of the generation."

Yet the dystopian wave began long before Trump's election. As John Feffer, author of the dystopian novel "Splinterlands," recently wrote in The Nation, there was an apocalyptic mindset on both sides of the recent presidential election. On one side, Trump "tapped into the end-of-days impulses of Christian evangelicals, anti-globalists and white power enthusiasts." On the other side, Hillary Clinton supporters warned of a "Trumpocalypse" with more severe climate change, economic collapse and the outbreak of race wars.

But Sen. Paul's interest started well before the recent presidential race.

In a 2013 VICE interview he revealed, "I think dystopian novels are a discussion of politics, and sort of what happens if you let a government accumulate too much power." New presidents or kings think they're too good and smart to abuse their power, Paul said, offering President Barack Obama's early stand against indefinite detention for prisoners in Guantanamo Bay as an example. Obama reduced their numbers, but politics prevented him from closing the place down as he had promised.

Good intentions, Paul said, are "not good enough. It's like when (President James) Madison said, "If government were comprised of angels, we wouldn't have to worry about how much power to give the government."

Having been immersed in reports of widespread intolerance for conservative speakers on campus, I feared that the announcement of Paul's new teaching gig would send angry letters and petitions flying like snowflakes. But initial reaction, at least, was quite the opposite. Available seats went quickly, despite its 8 a.m. time slot, which touched off unconfirmed reports of left-out Paul fans offering cash bribes to would-be seat scalpers.

The genre's appeal to the libertarian-minded Paul is easy to see. Dystopian fiction tends to cast bold, courageous individuals against big government, glorifying the smarts, skills and tenacity of its heroes and heroines. Its anti-authoritarian sentiments have instant appeal to rebellious teenagers whose central theme in life is the oppression imposed on them by their elders.

With that in mind, it is not surprising that Paul is quite popular among students, as his father, former Rep. Ron Paul, a Texas libertarian Republican, also was.

Yet we also need to be cautious about which lessons to take away from dystopian narratives. They often turn on the savior who steps up and leads the masses in Messianic fashion out of a crisis. Real life usually doesn't work out that easily.

Many of the same people who support Trump today ridiculed Obama supporters for following a "savior," until they had one of their own. Democracy calls for an electorate that remains conscientiously involved and refuses to pass the buck to others. Otherwise, just when you think "it's not the end of the world," it is.

Clarence Page, a member of the Tribune Editorial Board, blogs at http://www.chicagotribune.com/pagespage.

cpage@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @cptime

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Why some think dystopia looks good these days - Chicago Tribune - Chicago Tribune

Being Libertarian

Libertarian Living vs. Libertarian Governing Being Libertarian As a libertarian, I'm often called a hypocrite for my personal views on the way I should live my life, because I don't live libertarianism. But to me this is a very basic misunderstanding of what libertarianism is. I was raised Mormon, and I consider ...

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Libertarian Living vs. Libertarian Governing - Being Libertarian