President Obama Tells Trump Presidency Is Not A ‘Reality Show’
President Obama commented on Donald Trump’s candidacy for president on Friday by alluding to his career as a reality TV show host.
“We are in serious times; this is a really serious job,” President Obama said at a news conference, according to The Atlantic. “This is not entertainment. This is not a reality show.”
President Obama appeared to be explaining to the media, who were present, that their reporting needs to reflect what’s important to the presidency.
“It means that you have to make sure their budgets add up. It means that if they say that they’ve got an answer to a problem, it is actually plausible and that they have details on how it would work and if it is completely implausible and would not work, that needs to be reported on, and the American people need to know that,” President Obama said.
“And if that happens, then I’m confident our democracy will work,” Obama said, according to Politico. “That is true whether we are talking about Mr. Trump, or Ms. Clinton, or Bernie Sanders, or anybody else. But what I am concerned about is the degree to which reporting and information starts emphasizing the spectacle and the circus because that’s not something we can afford. And the American people, they have good judgment and instincts. As long as they get good information.”
Donald Trump has received much scrutiny this week, right after a major win in Indiana on Tuesday. Ted Cruz and John Kasich, his main opponents, both dropped out of the race after Trump’s victory. That said, Trump doesn’t appear to have the full support of the Republican Party.
When asked if he could support Trump on Thursday, House Speaker Paul Ryan was very hesitant.
“I’m just not ready to do that at this point. I’m not there right now,” Ryan told CNN.
Mitt Romney, the party’s 2012 nominee, is sticking by his statement that he cannot support Trump as a candidate. “I wish we had better choices,” Romney said during a private speech on Thursday, according to the New York Times. “I keep hoping that things will somehow get better.”
This reluctance from his own party to support Trump comes as Hillary Clinton is seen leading Trump by a large margin in national polls for the general election. A CNN poll from Wednesday shows Hillary Clinton leading Trump by 13 points, 54 to 41. Bernie Sanders also leads Trump by wide margins.
Trump does at least have the support of the Republican Party’s chairman, Reince Priebus, who said on Wednesday that Trump’s victory is probably “good for the party.” He also said he’d get behind whoever the Republican nominee ends up being, which looks to be Trump.
“There is no doubt that there is a debate taking place inside the Republican Party about who they are and what they represent. Their standard-bearer at the moment is Donald Trump,” President Obama said on Friday. “And I think — not just Republican officials, but more importantly Republican voters are going to have to make a decision whether this is the guy who speaks for them and represents their values.”
President Obama also said that he thinks Republican women may be especially weary of Trump, who has been accused of demeaning women at certain times.
[Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images]
