Progressive One

By MICHAEL D. SHEARAUG. 2, 2016

Obama Says Trump Unfit to Serve as President
President Obama said on Tuesday that Donald J. Trump was “woefully unprepared” to serve as president, and asked why Republicans kept distancing themselves from the candidate while still supporting him.
By CBS, VIA REUTERS on Publish Date August 2, 2016. Photo by Al Drago/The New York Times. Watch in Times Video »

WASHINGTON — In his strongest denunciation of Donald J. Trump so far, President Obama on Tuesday said Mr. Trump was “unfit to serve as president” and urged the leaders of the Republican Party to withdraw their backing for his candidacy.

Mr. Obama said the Republican criticisms of Mr. Trump “ring hollow” if the party’s leaders continue to support his bid for the presidency this fall, particularly in light of Republican criticisms of Mr. Trump for his attacks on the Muslim parents of an American soldier, Humayun Khan, who died in Iraq.

“The question 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?” Mr. Obama said at a news conference at the White House.

Mr. Obama said that in addition to Mr. Trump’s comments about the Khan family, the Republican nominee had demonstrated that he was “woefully unprepared to do this job.” The president said Mr. Trump lacked knowledge about Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

“This isn’t a situation where you have an episodic gaffe. This is daily,” Mr. Obama added. “There has to be a point at 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. The fact that that has not yet happened makes some of these denunciations ring hollow.”

Mr. Obama’s comments came as he stood next to Lee Hsien Loong, the prime minister of Singapore, in the East Room of the White House. The president is hosting a state dinner Tuesday evening to highlight 50 years of cooperation in Asia between the two countries.

That setting stood in sharp contrast to Mr. Trump, who was delivering a campaign speech in a rally at Briar Woods High School in Ashburn, Va., at the same time that Mr. Obama made his remarks.

Mr. Trump questioned Hillary Clinton’s ability to serve as president and called her a “thief” who should not be allowed to serve in the Oval Office.

“She’s got a bad temperament,” he told a packed auditorium. “She’s got the temperament of a loser.”

Four minutes into his speech, he accused Mrs. Clinton of lying to Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday,” as chants of “Lock her up” filled the auditorium.

“She said the F.B.I. director said like everything was just perfect, and it wasn’t,” Mr. Trump said in reference to James B. Comey and the bureau’s inquiry into her personal email server. “I mean, she lied. She, pure and simple, she only knows to lie. She really does. She only knows to lie. But she lied, and it’s a big story.”

And even as Mr. Obama discussed trade policy and security issues with the Singaporean prime minister, Mr. Trump criticized world leaders. He said he would ask Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany, “what went wrong” in her country. And he criticized Mrs. Clinton for what he called “terrible relations” with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.


While there was no immediate reaction to Mr. Obama’s comments from House Speaker Paul D. Ryan or Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, one Republican House member had already taken the president’s advice earlier on Tuesday.

Representative Richard Hanna, Republican of New York, said Tuesday morning that he plans to vote for Mrs. Clinton, calling Mr. Trump “unfit to serve” as the nation’s president and commander in chief.

Mr. Hanna, who is retiring at the end of his term in January, has said before that he could not support Mr. Trump’s candidacy. But his willingness to endorse Mrs. Clinton, a Democrat, sends a dramatic message to his colleagues in the Republican Party.
He announced his decision in an interview and in a column that he posted on Syracuse.com. In both, he said he came to his decision to support Mrs. Clinton in part because of Mr. Trump’s comments about Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the parents of the fallen American soldier.

“I was stunned by the callousness of his comments,” Mr. Hanna said. “I think Trump is a national embarrassment. Is he really the guy you want to have the nuclear codes?”

Correction: August 2, 2016

An earlier version of this article misstated where Mr. Obama made his comments. He was in the East Room of the White House, not on the South Lawn.

Alexander Burns contributed reporting from New York and Nick Corasaniti contributed from Ashburn, Va.
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Zombiefarmer23 Loc: Bull Hills

Commie troll alert

crazylibertarian Loc: Florida by way of New York & Rhode Island

Just when you think Barack Obama has gone as ;low as he can, he proves you wrong. I have never seen a sitting president get as involved as this man is in the campaign for his successor. He has no class.

Progressive One

you're just mad that the GOP is so fked up that a lame ass President (W) cannot and will not campaign for tRump. can you say Dumb and Dumber? A Great President is supposed to help the party. Bill helped Barack in 2008 so now the favor is being returned. Obama is supposed to help slam dunk trump's birther ass. Payback's a bitch huh?

maureenthannon

I'm sure Obama said nothing about it being disco vered that the weapons terrorists used to attack Benghazi were the weapons that he anfd Hill gave to Islamic terrorist groups to take Momar out . And no comments about the NSA having Hillarys 33000 deleted e-mails. Apparently they wouldn't of helped Hill so they were ignored. These stories can be found on WND

bilordinary Loc: SW Washington

Don't be silly he was on the Jay Leno show!

maureenthannon

Are you really surprised at how low he can go, or that he has no class? Its been almost 8 yearsof it.

Progressive One

Yep and Bill Clinton was on Arsenio playing a sax...and America loved it!!!

crazylibertarian Loc: Florida by way of New York & Rhode Island

Bill was NOT a sitting president at the time and that was a bad precedent also. Again, it was done by another low-life classless piece of garbage. But that's about typical for the Democratic Party. They have no class. And neither do you.

Nothing like either of these things has happenen in my lifetime of 72 years. Sitting presdikent and former presedients donot gete involved in campaigns.

Progressive One

you're just mad because Obama is passing the baton and W is damaged goods...just like your nominee.....these are different times....a black President for starters....duh!!!

crazylibertarian Loc: Florida by way of New York & Rhode Island

Eisenhower didn't do it for Nixon in 1960. Johnson didn't do it for Humphrey in 1968. Reagan didn't do it for H. W. Bush in 1988. You ought to take heed of Mark Twain's adage; "Better to say nothing and look stupid than to open your mouth & remove all doubt."

You're perfect for the Democratic Party. The low information voter is what they seek.

Progressive One

Things are working for the Dems and you are irrelevant, so sit and call names to ease your agony of defeat.............Dems are following their own protocol & not giving a shit what you or the right thinks. You people are funny....you only say what helps your chances...that is why you all wanted Bernie, so you could cry socialist with a one-word campaign moving forward....hilarious........too bad W was such a sad ass President who cannot help your sad ass nominee....

crazylibertarian Loc: Florida by way of New York & Rhode Island

Eisenhower didn't do it for Nixon in 1960. Johnson didn't do it for Humphrey in 1968. Reagan didn't do it for H. W. Bush in 1988. And I don't remember former presidents going out on the campaign trail for candidates.

You should heed Mark Twain's adage; "Better to say nothing and look stupid than to open your mouth & remove all doubt."

Progressive One

The Dems are following their own protocol and you are the right are irrelevant. Too bad Bernie did not win so you all could have cried socialist!! and try to back door your way to the white house. So whine like a bitch and call names to help ease the agony of defeat the way you have the last 8 years.............

Progressive One

I remember people like you who used to tell me what could not be done because it was done differently in the past. Maybe this is a better approach or just tell you "so the fk what?' Who cares what was done in the past? This is 2016.