Donald Trump A Populist? Barack Obama Doesn’t Think So, Unleashes Rant


During his visit while meeting with other North American leaders, President Barack Obama showed his dislike for wealthy businessman Donald Trump. Obama severely criticized Trump for his rhetoric, and the president said that although Trump may describe himself as a populist, he is really xenophobic because of his stance on Muslims.

Stuff NZ reported that although the president never referred to Trump by name in his remarks during his speech, it was clear he was referring to Donald Trump. Obama said that Trump didn’t meet the criteria for being a populist because he had never fought for social justice, helped poor kids get healthcare or helped workers in any way.

“They don’t suddenly become a populist because they say something controversial in order to win votes. That’s not the measure of populism. That’s nativism, or xenophobia. Or worse. Or it’s just cynicism.”

Obama went on to say that presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who is running against Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, did deserve the title. Obama plans to go on the campaign trail with Clinton, who is the presumptive Democratic nominee and supported by Obama.

Breitbart reported that President Obama said that he, and not Donald Trump, was the real populist. Obama made his remarks at the end of a press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto after attending the North American Leaders’ Summit.

Obama denied the notion of Trump being a populist and said that someone should pull out the dictionary and look up the term.

“Maybe somebody can pull up in the dictionary quickly the phrase ‘populism’ but I’m not prepared to concede the notion that some of the rhetoric that’s been popping up is populist.”

Obama said that Donald Trump had actually worked against the policies of liberal Democrats. The president also recommended that voters avoid candidates who offered simple solutions to fixing the economy. According to Obama, his 2008 presidential campaign, as well as his presidency, were all about helping the poor and working families. Trump’s stances on illegal immigration and Muslims led Obama to label Donald Trump xenophobic.

NPR reported that in their interview with President Obama that he critiqued Donald Trump several times and said that Trump’s campaign, like the Brexit vote in Great Britain, tapped into the fears of xenophobia and “funny looking people.” Great Britain voted to leave the European Union, and Trump saw it as the British taking their country back.

Obama said that Trump was part of the global elites and doesn’t speak for working people on either side of the Atlantic. Obama saw parallels between the American and British elections just as NPR did, but the parallels were different. Obama said that the elections on both sides of the Atlantic had the same results in that they were tapping into the fears of those on both sides.

Obama said that Trump was tapping into the fear that foreigners were coming from other countries and changing the basic character of the United States, similar to what the British believed was happening in both Great Britain and Europe. The president said that he believed the American economy was stronger and that the American election would have the same results. Although NPR gave Donald Trump a chance to answer Obama’s attacks, Trump’s staff has yet to answer Obama’s allegations.

[Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images]

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