Obama: Trump Showing His Ignorance To The World

During his visit to Japan for the G-7 Economic Summit, President Obama told reporters that Donald Trump’s political ascendency is making world leaders nervous. Obama described how Trump’s various proposals display ignorance of world affairs.

“[Foreign leaders] are rattled by it – and for good reason,” Obama told reporters, notes Oregon Live. “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.”

“I think it’s fair to say they are surprised by the Republican nominee,” Obama continued.

His comments echo what Secretary of State John Kerry said of the Republican primaries in March.

During an interview on CBS’ “Face The Nation,” Kerry said that the Republican presidential primary is “an embarrassment” for the United States to the international community. He added that rhetoric on race and Muslims “shocked” foreign leaders, says Huffington Post.

“They don’t know where it’s taking the United States of America,” Kerry added. “It upsets people’s sense of equilibrium about our steadiness, about our reliability, and to some degree […] it’s clear to me that what’s happening is an embarrassment to our country.”

“During primaries, people get a little grumpy with each other,” President Obama continued during his press conference in Japan this week. “Somebody’s supporter pops off and there’s a certain buildup of aggravation. [Over] [e]very little speed bump, conflict trash-talking that takes places is elevated.”

Though Obama specifically named Trump in this most recent commentary on the election, the president made a more nuanced pass at the Republican Party during his commencement speech at Rutgers University earlier in May.

“Facts, evidence, reason, logic, an understanding of science: These are good things,” Obama told the graduating class, reports NPR. “These are qualities you want in people making policy. …That might seem obvious. …We traditionally have valued those things, but if you’re listening to today’s political debate, you might wonder where this strain of anti-intellectualism came from.”

Obama then added, “when our leaders express a disdain for facts, when they’re not held accountable for repeating falsehoods and just making stuff up, when actual experts are dismissed as elitists, then we’ve got a problem.”

Sources: Oregonian, Huffington Post, NPR / Photo credit: Nick Knupffer/Intel via Flickr