By Lee Kainoelani
By Lee Kainoelani
Rabat – During a conference in Japan, U.S President Barack Obama discussed the 2016 presidential campaign, saying foreign leaders are surprised by Donald Trump and are not sure how seriously to take the things he says, according to CBS news.
“They are rattled by it – and for good reason,” Obama said. “Because a lot of the proposals he has made display either ignorance of world affairs, or a cavalier attitude, or an interest in getting tweets and headlines.”
Obama contrasted Trump’s proposals to those that address what’s required to keep the U.S. safe and prosperous, and “to keep the world on an even keel.”
Questions about Trump have increasingly followed Obama as he travels overseas. Obama said that Trump now comes up in every one of his foreign meetings, and that he offers reassurances that he doesn’t believe Trump will be elected.
In the past, Trump has opposed the Asia-Pacific free trade deal that Obama brokered, threatened to renegotiate Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran and the global climate pact reached in Paris, and proposed a ban on all Muslims from entering the U.S.
While the President has generally avoided voicing his opinion about the presidential race, he made it no secret of his distaste towards Trump.
Obama continues to downplay any Democratic concerns about the primary fight between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. He said that the difference between Democrats and Republicans this year is that the Democratic candidates aren’t that ideologically different from one another.
He also predicted that the ongoing nomination fight will do little to hinder their prospects.
“The one thing I’ve learned after being around for a while is that kind of day-to-day choppiness is not indicative of longer trends,” Mr. Obama said. “I feel confident about the Democratic vision for the country.”
He added: “Would it be nice if everybody was immediately unified and singing kumbaya and whoever the nominee ended up being could just take a nice two-week vacation to re-charge? Absolutely. I guarantee you that the eventual nominee sure wishes it was over now. Because this is a grind. It’s hard.”
