President Obama declares Donald Trump is unfit to be president – questions why Republicans are still endorsing him.
President Obama came out with his harshest criticisms so far of the Republican presidential nominee during a Tuesday press conference.
Obama called Trump “unfit” and “woefully unprepared” to serve as president during the White House press conference held with visiting Singapore Prime Minister Lee Lsien Loong.
Obama also questioned the Republican Party for continuing to support Trump’s campaign, telling reporters:”If you are repeatedly having to say what Trump says is unacceptable, why are you still endorsing him?”
CBS News Foreign Affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan asked President Obama the first question of the press conference:
“Thank you, Mr. President. Given the Republican nominee’s recent comments about the Khan family and his statement that, if President, he would consider recognizing Russia’s annexation of Crimea, does it make you question his fitness to be President?”
Obama responded that: “Yes, I think the Republican nominee is unfit to serve as President. I said so last week, and he keeps on proving it. The notion that he would attack a Gold Star family that had made such extraordinary sacrifices on behalf of our country, the fact that he doesn’t appear to have basic knowledge around critical issues in Europe, in the Middle East, in Asia, means that he’s woefully unprepared to do this job.”
“And this is not just my opinion,” he continued. “I think what’s been interesting is the repeated denunciations of his statements by leading Republicans, including the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader, and prominent Republicans like John McCain.”
Obama went on to question what exactly it might take for Republicans to stop endorsing Trump’s campaign:
And the question I think that they have to ask themselves is, if you are repeatedly having to say in very strong terms that what he has said is unacceptable, why are you still endorsing him? What does this say about your party that this is your standard bearer? This isn’t a situation where you have an episodic gaffe. This is daily, and weekly, where they are distancing themselves from statements he’s making. There has to be a point in which you say, this is not somebody I can support for President of the United States, even if he purports to be a member of my party.
And the fact that that has not yet happened makes some of these denunciations ring hollow. I don’t doubt their sincerity. I don’t doubt that they were outraged about some of the statements that Mr. Trump and his supporters made about the Khan family. But there has to come a point at which you say somebody who makes those kinds of statements doesn’t have the judgment, the temperament, the understanding to occupy the most powerful position in the world.
Obama continued, pointing out that it is normal to disagree on issues such as “tax policy or on certain elements of foreign policy.”
Because a lot of people depend on the White House getting stuff right, and this is different than just having policy disagreements. I recognize that they all profoundly disagree with myself or Hillary Clinton on tax policy or on certain elements of foreign policy. But there have been Republican Presidents with whom I disagreed with, but I didn’t have a doubt that they could function as President. I think I was right, and Mitt Romney and John McCain were wrong on certain policy issues, but I never thought that they couldn’t do the job. And had they won, I would have been disappointed, but I would have said to all Americans they are — this is our President, and I know they’re going to abide by certain norms and rules and common sense, will observe basic decency, will have enough knowledge about economic policy and foreign policy and our constitutional traditions and rule of law that our government will work, and then we’ll compete four years from now to try to win an election.
However, “that’s not the situation here,” the president continued.
And that’s not just my opinion; that is the opinion of many prominent Republicans. There has to come a point at which you say, enough. And the alternative is that the entire party, the Republican Party, effectively endorses and validates the positions that are being articulated by Mr. Trump. And as I said in my speech last week, I don’t think that actually represents the views of a whole lot of Republicans out there.
You can watch President Obama’s press conference, below:
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