President Barack Obama on Sunday called Donald Trump’s rhetoric “unbelievable” and said it exposes his insecurities in his first public appearance since the release of a video in which the Republican presidential candidate speaks vulgarly about women.
“One of the most disturbing things about this election is just the unbelievable rhetoric coming from the top of the Republican ticket. I don't need to repeat it, there are children in the room,” Obama said while campaigning for Senate candidate Tammy Duckworth in Chicago.
“Demeaning women, degrading women, but also minorities, immigrants, people of other faiths, mocking the disabled, insulting our troops, insulting our veterans -- that tells you a couple of things,” Obama continued. “That tells you that he’s insecure enough that he pumps himself up by putting other people down, not a character trait that I would advise for someone in the Oval Office. It tells you he doesn’t care much about the basic values we try to impart to our kids. I tells you he would be careless with the civility and respect that a real vibrant Democracy requires.”
The president did not directly mention Trump’s recently uncovered 2005 remarks in which he talks about groping women, but the comments were clearly directed at the most recent discovery that has led to dozens of Republicans pulling their support.
Obama, who voted early in his home state of Illinois last week, also tried to make the case that one of the most frequently used rallying cries of American campaigns is, in fact, true in 2016.
“I know it's cliche to say, every four years, that this is the most important election of your lifetime. But this is the most important election of your lifetime,” he said.
