Trump ‘won’t be next president’
US President Barack Obama speaks at a Washington State Democratic Party campaign event at the Westin Hotel on October 9, 2015 in Seattle, Washington, DC. President Obama is fairly certain of one thing when it comes to next year’s election: Donald Trump won’t succeed him in the White House. PHOTO | AFP
What you need to know:
- Mr Trump’s incendiary comments on immigration and other issues have dominated the campaign and offended many Americans, but he nevertheless has seen his poll numbers climb steadily higher.
- Meanwhile, Jeb Bush appears to have paid the price in the eyes of Republican voters for a number of gaffes that included him saying in the aftermath of a college massacre that “stuff happens.”
WASHINGTON
President Barack Obama is fairly certain of one thing when it comes to next year’s election: Donald Trump won’t succeed him in the White House.
The billionaire businessman, the frontrunner in the race to become the Republican party’s White House nominee, has raised hackles with his controversial comments on immigration, gun control and women, among other issues.
“He knows how to get attention. He is, you know, the classic reality TV character, and at this early stage, it’s not surprising that he’s gotten a lot of attention,” President Obama said of Mr Trump in an interview on CBS television’s “60 Minutes” news program.
“I don’t think he’ll end up being president of the United States,” Mr Obama said in the interview, which aired on Sunday.
Mr Trump’s incendiary comments on immigration and other issues have dominated the campaign and offended many Americans, but he nevertheless has seen his poll numbers climb steadily higher.
During a speech to Latino political leaders last week, Mr Obama condemned the logic of “saying clearly inflammatory things and then saying, ‘Well that’s not what I meant’ — until you do it again and again.”
“Leadership is not fanning the flames of intolerance, and then acting all surprised when a fire breaks out,” he added.
PAYING THE PRICE
Mr Obama did not name Trump directly during that speech, instead denouncing the overall tone of the Republican presidential field.
In his “60 Minutes” interview, the Democratic president pointed to “genuine anti-immigrant sentiment in a large portion of at least Republican primary voters,” although he stressed it was not “uniform.”
Meanwhile, Jeb Bush appears to have paid the price in the eyes of Republican voters for a number of gaffes that included him saying in the aftermath of a college massacre that “stuff happens.”
He may be the ultimate establishment Republican, but Bush — brother and son to former presidents — has seen his political ambitions stutter in the months since Mr Trump entered the race for the party nomination for the White House.
Mr Bush’s plummeting fortunes were confirmed in a CBS News poll released Sunday which said his favourable rating among Republican primary voters has dived 11 points since August.
Mr Trump, with 27 per cent, remains in the lead in the race for the Republican nomination, with Ben Carson (21 per cent) in second place, according to the poll.
The Bush campaign at 6 per cent has shown a puzzling lack of traction against brash real-estate mogul Trump.
