President Barack Obama, speaking at a journalism award ceremony on Monday, critiqued journalists for the coverage of the 2016 election thus far, saying candidates must be held to a higher standard.
“A job well done is about more than just handing someone a microphone,” Obama said at the awards dinner for Syracuse University’s Toner Prize in Washington, D.C., as quoted by CNN.
The prize is in honor of longtime New York Times political reporter Robin Toner, who died in 2008.
Obama said, according to Reuters, that there used to be “a price” for not keeping promises and offering false information.
“When our elected officials and our political campaigns become entirely untethered from reason and facts and analysis, when it doesn’t matter what’s true and what’s not, that makes it all but impossible for us to make good decisions on behalf of future generations,” he said, according to CNN.
Obama said America’s “brand” is being damaged, according to The New York Times.
“I was going to call it a carnival atmosphere, but that implies fun,” he said.
The President said when he travels, world leaders always ask about the state of American politics.
“The number one question I’m getting as I travel around the world or talk to world leaders right now is, ‘What is happening in America?’ about our politics,” Obama said.
“It’s not because around the world people have not seen crazy politics. It is that they understand America is the place where you can’t afford completely crazy politics,” he added.
