President Barack Obama on Thursday urged the American people to challenge what he called “contradictory or uninformed or outright wacky ideas” from Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
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Obama, however, said: “I don’t think the guy’s qualified to be president of the United States, and every time he speaks, that opinion is confirmed”.
President Barack Obama holds a news conference at the conclusion of his participation in the ASEAN Summits in Vientiane, Laos September 8, 2016.
In Laos, Obama announced the US will spend $90 million over three years to help clean up the unexploded bombs.
Obama’s engagement with Congress has become increasingly sparse as the end of his presidency approaches and the election encroaches on policy discussions in Washington.
Trump has blasted Obama’s policy toward China as weak and said the president was humiliated by the Chinese during his visit to Asia this week.
Throughout the campaign, Obama has repeatedly denounced Trump and deemed him “unfit” to serve as commander in chief, while arguing that his controversial positions and comments are a step beyond what Republican nominees have embraced in the past.
Andanar was unaware if Duterte’s absence in the meetings had anything to do with a reported miscarriage suffered by his daughter, the mayor of their southern Philippine city of Davao.
At the top of the list of unfinished business is the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-nation free trade deal Obama helped broker.
Obama was responding to a reporter’s question about Trump’s criticism of the president during a televised forum on Wednesday in which the GOP standard-bearer said Russian President Vladimir Putin was a stronger leader than Obama. At the end of the ASEAN Summit today, when the final communiqué is issued, it will be seen whether ASEAN continues its stand against taking any solid position on the South China Sea issue.
“I realize this raises tensions”, Obama said earlier as he met with ASEAN leaders, referring to a recent global arbitration ruling against China on the maritime dispute.
The president’s trip to Asia included meetings with foreign leaders.
On his last day in Asia, Mr Obama met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose help Mr Obama is seeking to galvanise further action on climate change, especially among developing countries.
President Barack Obama says the US wants to work constructively with Southeast Asian nations to lower tensions with China in the South China Sea.
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“.I said that, but not in relation to Obama”, he said.
