President Obama said Thursday that Republicans blaming him for the rise of Donald Trump is “novel” because the GOP frontrunner is parroting the same lines party elites have been feeding their base for his entire presidency.
Asked during a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau if he feels responsible for the rise of Trump, Obama responded while he’s done “soul searching” about how he can unify the country, Republicans have no one but themselves to blame for Trump.
“Objectively, it’s fair to say that the Republican political elites and many of the information outlets, social media, news outlets, talk radio, television stations have been feeding the Republican base for the last seven years a notion that everything I do is to be opposed. That cooperation or compromise somehow is a betrayal,” Obama said.
“The tone of that politics, I certainly have not contributed to. I don’t think that I was the one to prompt questions about my birth certificate, for example,” he continued. “Those aren’t things that were prompted by any actions of mine.”
The President went on to credit the Republicans for “creating an environment where someone like a Donald Trump can thrive.”
“He’s just doing more of what has been done for the last seven-and-a-half years,” Obama said.
He went on to say while he owns the responsibility to keep building bridges as President, the Republicans’ primary brawl isn’t a result of his actions.
“I’m not going to validate some notion that the Republican crackup that’s been taking place is the consequence of actions I’ve taken,” Obama said.
“Thoughtful conservatives” are troubled by Trump’s rise and what it means for the party, he said, suggesting those party members take time to reflect on “what it is about the politics they’ve engaged in” that allowed “the circus we’ve been seeing to transpire.”
