Washington:
US President Barack Obama believes Republican White House hopeful Donald Trump would not be elected as his successor as being a president is tougher than hosting a reality show and Americans are too “sensible” to elect him.
“I continue to believe Mr Trump will not be President. And the reason is because I have a lot of faith in the American people, and I think they recognise that being President is a serious job,” Obama told reporters after the first ever US-ASEAN Summit in Sunnylands, California.
“It’s not hosting a talk show or a reality show. It’s not promotion. It’s not marketing,” he said.
The 69-year-old billionaire real estate tycoon fired back, saying Obama was lucky that he did not run for office in 2012.
“You’re lucky I didn’t run last time when Romney ran because you would have been a one-term president,” Trump said at a campaign rally in South Carolina.
Obama also criticised other Republican candidates.
He said he thinks foreign observers are troubled by some of the rhetoric that’s been taking place in these Republican primaries and Republican debates.
“I don’t think it’s restricted, by the way, to Mr Trump. I find it interesting that everybody is focused on Trump, primarily just because he says in more interesting ways what the other candidates are saying, as well,” he noted.
“He may up the ante in anti-Muslim sentiment, but if you look at what the other Republican candidates have said, that’s pretty troubling, too,” Obama said.
The president said Trump was not the only Republican who raised concerns, but he singled out the real estate mogul as someone who would be singularly unprepared for the responsibilities of the Oval Office.
In an apparent reference to another Republican presidential aspirant Marco Rubio, the Senator from Florida, Obama said there is a candidate who sponsored a bill, which he supported, to finally solve the immigration problem, and he’s running away from it as fast as he can.
Observing that all Republican candidates are denying climate change, Obama said he this that’s troubling to the international community, since the science is unequivocal.
US President Barack Obama has pledged to pick an indisputably qualified nominee for the Supreme Court as he lashed out at Republicans who threatened to block him from filling the key vacancy for which three Indian-Americans could be the possible candidates.
“I’m going to present somebody who indisputably is qualified for the seat and any fair-minded person—even somebody who disagreed with my politics—would say would serve with honour and integrity on the court,” Obama told reporters at Sunnylands in California after hosting leaders of the 10 South East Asian nations at the US-ASEAN Summit.
The President staked out a tough position after Republicans warned he would not get a vote on his eventual nominee to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia.
Obama took a swipe at Republicans by saying he was amused to hear some in the party describe themselves as “strict interpreters” of the Constitution but dispute the idea that he has the right to get a hearing for a Supreme Court nominee.
“The Constitution is pretty clear about what is supposed to happen now. When there is a vacancy on the Supreme Court, the President of the US is to nominate someone. The Senate is to consider that nomination, and either they disapprove of that nominee or that nominee is elevated to the Supreme Court,” Obama said.
“If we are following basic precedent, then that nominee will be presented before the committees; the vote will be taken; and ultimately, they’ll be confirmed,” he said.
The US President said “No” when asked if his comment should be interpreted that he is likely to choose a moderate nominee.
“I don’t know where you found that. You shouldn’t assume anything about the qualifications of the nominee other than they are going to be well-qualified,” he said.
Several potential names are doing the rounds, which is being topped by Indian-Americans Sri Srinivasan and Kamala Harris.
Many say another Indian-American, Neal Katyal, could emerge as a dark horse in the process.
