After spending weeks in French Polynesia — including time on the yacht of the movie mogul David Geffen along with Bruce Springsteen, Tom Hanks and Oprah Winfrey — Mr. Obama will return to Chicago on Monday for his first public event as a former president.

His self-imposed silence since Inauguration Day will end with a series of events over the next four weeks. A Monday event with students at the University of Chicago will be followed by an awards ceremony in Boston; a series of public remarks as well as private paid speeches in the United States and Europe; and an appearance at the Brandenburg Gate in Germany with Chancellor Angela Merkel.

And yet, Mr. Obama's supporters, who have been waiting eagerly for the former president to respond to his successor's accusations and policy reversals, are likely to be disappointed.

Even as he witnesses President Trump's relentless and chaotic assault on his legacy, Mr. Obama remains stubbornly committed to the idea that there is only one president at a time.