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Obama Makes Case Against Donald Trump, Saying Presidency ‘Is Not a Reality Show’ Obama Makes Case Against Donald Trump, Saying Presidency ‘Is Not a Reality Show’
(about 7 hours later)
WASHINGTON — President Obama implored journalists on Friday to subject Donald J. Trump’s statements and proposals to intense scrutiny now that he is the presumptive Republican nominee for president, saying the 2016 White House campaign should not be treated like a political carnival. WASHINGTON — In a biting critique of the presumptive Republican nominee, President Obama said Friday that Donald J. Trump should be subjected to serious scrutiny and not be allowed to treat the presidential campaign like “a reality show.”
“We are in serious times, and this is a really serious job,” Mr. Obama said after being asked about Mr. Trump at a news conference. “This is not entertainment. This is not a reality show. This is a contest for the presidency of the United States. Every candidate, every nominee, needs to be subject to exacting standards and genuine scrutiny.” “We are in serious times, and this is a really serious job,” Mr. Obama said after being asked about Mr. Trump at a White House news conference. “This is not entertainment. This is not a reality show. This is a contest for the presidency of the United States.”
And he said Republican voters must now confront the choice they made in the primaries. The president suggested that Mr. Trump’s statements and proposals would wither under “exacting standards and genuine scrutiny,” saying that particular attention must be paid to campaign promises made by Mr. Trump — or any other candidate — on issues like the budget, the economy and foreign policy.
“You know, if they take a position on international issues that could threaten war or has the potential of upending our critical relationships with other countries or would potentially break the financial system, that needs to be reported on,” Mr. Obama said.
“What I’m concerned about is the degree to which reporting and information starts emphasizing the spectacle and the circus,” he added, “because that’s not something we can afford.”
Taking questions from reporters at the White House for the first time since Mr. Trump became the presumptive nominee on Tuesday, the president chided the news media over its coverage of the campaign, saying it had not yet focused on serious issues.
“One thing that I’m going to really be looking for over the next six months is that the American people are effectively informed about where candidates stand on the issues, what they believe, making sure that their numbers add up, making sure that their policies have been vetted and that candidates are held to what they’ve said in the past,” Mr. Obama said.
The comments, though restrained in tone, were a preview of what aides say will be a vigorous presence by Mr. Obama in the general election. Mr. Trump and Mr. Obama have a tense history that includes Mr. Trump’s leading role in the “birther” movement, which falsely suggested that the president was not born in the United States.
Mr. Obama has so far held back from entering the fray on the Democratic side, in part because of the continuing contest between Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders. Asked whether it was time for Mr. Sanders to concede, the president once again demurred.
He said both Democratic candidates agreed on issues like raising the minimum wage, investing in infrastructure, improving the immigration system, using the military prudently and providing health care to all Americans.
“Let’s let the process play itself out,” he said.
But Mr. Obama seems increasingly impatient to weigh in on the Republican side, amid a contest in which millions of voters have rejected more than a dozen traditional candidates in favor of a hotel mogul and former reality TV star.
The president’s comments came during what had been billed as a statement on the economy and financial corruption. But after making his remarks on those topics, the president took questions from reporters, knowing that he would undoubtedly be asked about Mr. Trump.
He said Republican voters must now confront the choice they have made.
“Their standard-bearer at the moment is Donald Trump,” Mr. Obama said. “Republican voters are going to have to make a decision about whether this is the guy who speaks for them and represents their values.”“Their standard-bearer at the moment is Donald Trump,” Mr. Obama said. “Republican voters are going to have to make a decision about whether this is the guy who speaks for them and represents their values.”
In particular, he added, “Republican women, voters, are going to have to decide, ‘Is that the guy I feel comfortable with representing me and what I care about?’ ”In particular, he added, “Republican women, voters, are going to have to decide, ‘Is that the guy I feel comfortable with representing me and what I care about?’ ”
Taking questions from reporters at the White House for the first time since Mr. Trump became the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee on Tuesday, the president said he was concerned that coverage of Mr. Trump and other candidates had emphasized “the spectacle and the circus” instead of the serious issues at stake for the country. He also suggested that reporters covering the campaign — including some sitting in the room — had not done enough to expose the weaknesses in Mr. Trump’s policies.
The comments were a preview of what aides say will be a vigorous presence by Mr. Obama in the general election campaign. Mr. Trump and Mr. Obama have a tense history that includes Mr. Trump’s decision to lead the “birther” movement that questioned where the president was born. “He has a long record that needs to be examined,” the president said, adding that “the American people, they’ve got good judgment, they’ve got good instincts, as long as they get good information.”
On Friday, Mr. Obama’s comments about Mr. Trump were restrained in tone. But he made it clear he believed that Mr. Trump’s proposals and statements would not hold up to scrutiny. Echoing Mr. Obama, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., speaking on Friday to the CBS affiliate in Pittsburgh, expressed worry that Mr. Trump might ultimately persuade voters that he was fit to be president.
“He has a long record that needs to be examined,” he said, adding that candidates who said things that could “threaten war” or had the “potential for upending our critical relationships with other countries” needed to be critically examined. “He has beaten the odds; he’s surprised everybody,” Mr. Biden said. “I think we all make a mistake when we don’t take him seriously.”
Asked a moment later about Mr. Trump’s Twitter post on Thursday of himself eating a taco bowl, Mr. Obama seemed amused. The vice president said that Mr. Trump could hire some “really significant” advisers and propose policies that “would make people think, ‘Well, maybe this guy can actually be president.’ ”
“I have no thoughts on Mr. Trump’s tweets,” he said. “As a general rule, I don’t pay attention to Mr. Trump’s tweets.” Mr. Obama, like many of his predecessors, has often criticized the news media for focusing on frivolous subjects that produce good images instead of the more weighty subjects that are central to governing.
Mr. Obama also said he was pleased that the United States economy had added 160,000 jobs in April, though he cautioned that “the global economy, as many people here are aware, is not growing as fast as it should be.” As if on cue, a television reporter in the briefing room asked the president about a Twitter post by Mr. Trump in which he professed his love of Hispanics and was pictured eating a taco bowl. Mr. Obama seemed amused, if not surprised, by the question.
He said his administration was taking actions to crack down on tax evasion like the kind exposed by the so-called Panama Papers. He said the new rules would help regulators track the flow of money by requiring banking institutions to report the real names of people who open accounts. “I have no thoughts on Mr. Trump’s tweets,” the president said bluntly. “As a general rule, I don’t pay attention to Mr. Trump’s tweets.”
But he called on Congress to broaden those efforts through legislation, saying, “We’re not going to be able to complete this job unless Congress acts as well.”