I know this has been said before by many professional pundits, but how amazing would this election be if Donald Trump was running against Barack Obama? While Hillary Clinton has a healthy lead in every single national poll, I believe Obama’s lead would be even larger if he was running against Trump. It would be a blowout. It would be crazy. That being said, I love Pres. Obama’s IDGAF phase, the last months of his presidency, where he’s just campaigning for the hell of it and taking down Trump with barely any effort. Obama did a press conference in the Rose Garden yesterday ahead of what will likely be his final State Dinner (for Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi) and of course he got some questions about the campaign. Specifically, he was asked about Trump’s constant complaints that the election is “rigged” and that “Crooked Hillary” has aligned with the media to accurately report Trump’s history of craziness, bigotry, racism and misogyny. Pres. Obama’s advice to Trump? “Stop whining.”
Obama on Trump's election claims: "I'd invite Mr. Trump to stop whining and go try to make his case to get votes" https://t.co/abzyEfZgW0 pic.twitter.com/eJKFsxryU6
— CNN (@CNN) October 18, 2016
Here’s a partial transcript of Obama’s long-winded answer on the “Trump says the election is rigged” question:
“One of the great things about America’s democracy is we have a vigorous, sometimes bitter political contest and when it’s done, historically, regardless of party, the person who loses the election congratulates the winner, who reaffirms our democracy and we move forward. That’s how democracy survives because we recognize that there’s something more important than any individual campaign. And that is making sure that the integrity and trust in our institutions sustains itself. Because democracy, by definition, works by consent, not by force.
I have never seen, in my lifetime or in modern political history, any presidential candidate trying to discredit the elections and the election process before votes have even taken place. It’s unprecedented. It happens to be based on no facts; every expert, regardless of political party, regardless of ideology, conservative or liberal, who has ever examined these issues in a serious way, will tell you that instances of significant voter fraud are not to be found, that — keep in mind, elections are run by state and local officials, which means that there are places like Florida, for example, where you’ve got a Republican governor, whose Republican appointees are going to running and monitoring a whole bunch of these election sites. The notion that somehow if Mr. Trump loses Florida, it’s because of those people that you have to watch out for, that is both irresponsible and, by the way, doesn’t really show the kind of leadership and toughness that you want out of a president.
If you start whining before the game’s even over, if whenever things are going badly for you and you lose, you start blaming somebody else, then you don’t have what it takes to be in this job because there are a lot of times when things don’t go our way or my way. That’s OK, you fight through it, you work through it, you try to accomplish your goals. But the larger point I want to emphasize here is that there is no serious person out there who would suggest somehow that you could even — you could even rig America’s elections, in part, because they are so decentralized and the numbers of votes involved.
There is no evidence that that has happened in the past or that there are instances in which that will happen this time. And so I’d invite Mr. Trump to stop whining and go try to make his case to get votes. And if he got the most votes, then it would be my expectation of Hillary Clinton to offer a gracious concession speech and pledge to work with him in order to make sure that the American people benefit from an effective government. And it would be my job to welcome Mr. Trump, regardless of what he’s said about me or my differences with him on my opinions, and escort him over to the Capitol, in which there would be a peaceful transfer of power.
That’s what Americans do. That’s why America is already great. One way of weakening America, making it less great, is if you start betraying those basic American traditions that have been bipartisan, and have helped to hold together this democracy now for well over two centuries.
Keep in mind, he said this without notes. I’m sure he knew he was going to get this question so he had already thought about what he was going to say, but doesn’t this sound like a State of the Union speech? That’s just how Obama talks. He’s actually riffing when he says “Because democracy, by definition, works by consent, not by force” (which is the t-shirt). He’s riffing when he says “I’d invite Mr. Trump to stop whining and go try to make his case to get votes.” God… I will just miss him so much. I love that he invoked “whining” TWICE. Because that’s what Trump is – a whiny little tiny-fisted sucky baby, a child who thinks Hillary Clinton is being “mean” to him by, you know, running her campaign.
Photos courtesy of Getty, WENN.
You tell him, Mr. President!
The Prez has always had Trump’s number. In an election he would have blown him out of the water. He couldn’t even make it interesting at the State Dinners. Oh how I will miss President Obama.
He really has always had Trump’s number and I love how he doesn’t seem panicky like so many of us about Trump being the nominee. He’s unflappable, as always. I’ll miss his calm, reassuring demeanor more than words can describe.
Yes, “unflappable” is the perfect word to describe our amazing President. Big (huge) +1 to all of your above comment.
Trump would still have the same core number of supporters if running against Obama. And other Republicans who can’t stand Trump would still be agonizing about whether to vote for the Democrat or stay home or just vote for Trump anyway. And the media would still be reporting every zany thing Trump says and ignoring Obama’s policy speeches. And the Republicans would still be planning to obstruct everything Obama planned to do. The exact details of the “scandals” thrown at Obama would be different, but just as stupid as what Hillary has been dealing with (look back at the actual elections). I was actually surprised when Obama lived to see a second term, that’s how awful the reaction to him was. How quickly we forget… More people began to seriously like Obama as his terms progressed, because of what he was trying to do and how he talked, and the same will be true if Hillary wins. The smears and scandals will have less and less of an effect as she shows what she can do.
Really, despite the advance nostalgia people are now feeling about the Obama Administration, the election would have played out pretty much the same if he were running against Trump. A good number of votes for Obama in 2008 and 2012 came from people who were either just more disgusted with Bush (his popularity was very low at the time) or worried about Sarah Palin being a heartbeat away from the Presidency. Sound familiar?
i will miss him so much
He is the coolest of the cool, and he knows that Trump is a hothead.
My mom, a life long republican who didn’t vote for Obama, has fallen in love with him in the past year. She disagrees with most of his policies but respects him as a statesman and generally as a human being. With this campaign being so ugly and Trump being such a loser has made her appreciate the Obamas. Im slowly getting her to see the light of liberalism. Better late than never! My mom and I are both #WithHer
You are lucky. My mom is the typical Fox-bot. And she’ll never change. All she can say is ‘Clinton=Corruption”. That’s it. It makes me so, so sad. She would rather have a rapist and pedophile in office than attempt to do her own research.
God I’m going to miss this man.
School that fool, Mr. President.
God, I’m going to miss him so much when he’s gone…. 😥
Farewell President Obama. You will be missed.
I am not surprised he said his answer without reading notes. He is eloquent, cultivated and well educated with a logical thought process. You don’t really need notes to answer that question. And I am sure there are many intelligent people out there who would make great candidates for president. I just don’t know how in this election we have Trump, who sets the bar very low.
Exactly. I expect Hillary would give an equally thoughtful and informed response but the Trump supporters don’t care about thought. Or facts. Sigh.
The phrase “by consent, not by force” – while it beautifully describes a civilised democratic process – gave me a sympathetic shudder, given that we’re talking about Trump. I have no doubt that Pres. Obama used that phrase intending it also as a dig at Donald’s misogyny.
Trump doesn’t understand consent in any context. He only understands “I want, I take. I don’t get? NOT FAIR!” My toddler is more mature.
Your toddler has probably heard the word ‘no’ which is something I’m guessing Trump never heard in his childhood.
True 😂
Good catch, I didn’t notice that phrase.
To go from this to Trump… I can’t.
And I cannot wait for the post about FLOTUS’ dress at her final state dinner. Damn!
Yeah yeah yeah yeah YEEEEEEEEAH!
“try to make his case to get votes”
This is the thing that seems weird to those of us with cabinet-style parliamentary democracies regarding US presidential elections: how little specific policy actually gets discussed. Our elections are all about the fine detail of extensive policy manifestos covering every area of government from tax to health to crime. I know it’s all about state devolution and presidential vs cabinet systems, but it still feels weird.
Aside from the dystopian fantasy of The Great Wall that every Muslim and Mexican rapist will be able to see from space, or whatever that fever dream is, does Trump have any ACTUAL policies? Any at all?
I’m enjoying Obama immensely at the moment. I bet he’ll be a great ex-President commentator, too.
Well, I just read this Sixer! It basically confirms that his election is more of a reality show for show with little substance behind. Funny quick read about a democrat who went undercover to volunteer for Trump only to find that he has little to no campaigners campaigning for him at his “headquarters” despite the big tv splay and rally turnout.
https://medium.com/@scottshapiro34/i-went-undercover-into-the-trump-campaign-and-couldnt-believe-what-i-found-5472a2f30b47#.t77t2dpgz
I still have yet to understand one clear policy he has beyond the fairly confusing maternity incentive(?)
Oh, good grief! But yes: perfect illustration of Emperor’s New Clothes. No policies and no infrastructure either.
I do get why the US presidential elections are about direction of travel rather than actual policy platforms, but it does seem to open the door to all this personality politics, doesn’t it?
Certainly, this side of the Pond, the only policies FROM EITHER CANDIDATE that have been reported are a) The Great Wall and b) The Great Muslim Ban. And clearly, that’s been because both are deluded neo-fascist fantasies. Otherwise, not a policy in sight – and even here in Britland, there’s been a sea of reporting.
No, no policies. His health care policy, after he rips apart Obamacare and the protections it affords to so many people, is just a bungled rehash of old Republican party rhetoric about making health insurance available for purchase across state lines (a ridiculous idea that will do nothing except result in people with insurance plans that don’t have networks in their area) and “tort reform”, which most states already has and Obamacare has and which helps only the malpractice insurance companies avoid paying out damages. His immigration policy is “build a wall, keep Muslims out, send everyone else back to Mexico, make Mexico pay for it all.” Everything else is covered in: I’ll cut everyone’s taxes and end entitlements and rebuild the military and bridges and create jobs. How he is paying for any of that is a mystery.
His party’s platform is here: https://prod-static-ngop-pbl.s3.amazonaws.com/media/documents/DRAFT_12_FINAL%5B1%5D-ben_1468872234.pdf There is some scary stuff in there, which, as president, he would be expected to sign or veto if Congress managed to pass any of it.
Of course, the measuring stick for many Americans for elections is: “which candidate would you prefer to have a beer with?” Which replaced the earlier standard of “which candidate looks more presidential.”
&lightpurple thank you! I’ll add this to my leisure reading. (:
For some reason that link doesn’t work, lightpurple. But I found it anyway. Am reading! Early view: for the party that talks loudest about “freedoms”, they sure do like the idea of micro-managing people’s (well, women’s) lives!
In a British general election, this manifesto and its Democrat equivalent document would form the basis of every TV debate between the party leaders and of every TV interview of candidates.
My 13 yo son and I read both party’s platforms for his school debate prep, and the contrast is astonishing and illustrates so much about where we are as a nation — The GOP one is truly frightening.
@Sixer, yes, and while all those present at the GOP convention voted for that platform, two of the three people responsible for chairing the committee and pulling that together were women. Virginia Foxx and Mary Fallin are in for a very rude awakening if they think they are going to manage me.
i really hate the way people try and muddy the waters with all this talk of facts and policies. So old fashioned. Make America great again! Lock her up! Crooked Hillary! What more do you need?
@Annetommy, I’m hearing. People are saying. Bigly! Believe me!
I’ve never lived in Britain, so I thought that I was perhaps idealizing your setup, but that’s exactly what I always thought about it, and, to me, it sounds so much more reasonable and logical than what we’ve got this side of the pond. I feel like our elections are such a reality show next to your less eventful, but more substantial ones.
I mean, a friend of a friend, who’s a disabled veteran, just told me on Facebook that he votes for Trump because he supports the military, then promptly failed to articulate the difference between HC’s stand on the military and DT’s. I mean, seriously? That’s one issue that is so close to your heart, that may define the livelihood of your entire family for 4-8 years, and you didn’t even know the details? I mean, show me one American president who didn’t “support the military”. How can you not care what exactly that means when you’re military?
I think it’s swings and roundabouts with no side actually being better, you know? I certainly think our general elections, being based on policies not people, are better in that voters are better informed to make proper decisions and there’s a lot less of the politician-as-celebrity nonsense.
But what our system does is give a lot more power to the executive. Our executive branch is formed by people elected to the primary legislation house from the party who won the general election. Our two houses have slightly different functions to yours, but essentially that means the President and his entire cabinet would be made up of Congress members from whichever party had the majority in Congress. Very hard to have effective brakes on the power of the executive this way.
I was actually wondering about that as well. I watched the second debate and they barely discussed any policies. It seemed more like a talk show than a political debate.
Obama is the best. Everyone else can just go home.
You know that question that asks who you would most like to have dinner with if you could pick anyone? For me, it would totally be Barack and Michelle Obama.
I bet they do have some killer dinner stories!
Those are probably the worst disses that Obama could make to such a thin skinned man. I love that he was able to do that, poke the bear, the day before the last debate to see if he can get Trump just a little bit unhinged!
Agree with everyone, GOD I love this man. I could watch him talk on that podium all day. Even the way his body language was, it was just all perfection. When he speaks I feel like I’m looking into a soulful person. He’s class and dignity personified.
(And MICHELLE! That Versace dress ZOMG)
Obama is a class act and heh as more than earned his right to not GASF. Tangerine Voldermort will never stop whining it is a side effect of the orange toxins that he tans his leather with.
OMG! Tangerine Voldemort!!! so fitting
There’s another funny sexual double standard: when Obama gives long, thoughtful answers he’s being presidential. When Hillary does it, she’s a wonk who isn’t connecting.
I think you mean sexist double standard. Different things come to mind with sexual-especially with Pres. Obama *perv wink*
Ha. You’re right. Sorry. Up with two croupy kids and prodromal labor, so I’m not super sharp right now.
I think part of the problem is that Obama is naturally charismatic and Hillary isn’t – that’s not technically a flaw, but it matters more than we like to think. Despite the issues I have with some of her policies, I do suspect sexism has a fair bit to do with her struggles in this campaign.
Trump has whined throughout his campaign when things aren’t going his way. Can you imagine Hillary ever once getting away with whining, being a woman?
Now the idiot has invited Obama’s estranged half-brother to sit at the next debate? No one else in the history of elections would get away with such juvenile behavior. They would be mocked and vilified. This Orange Baby gets away with this crap.
Even Bill O’Reilly in an interview this week said Trump needs to stop whining.
“No one else in the history of elections would get away with such juvenile behavior. They would be mocked and vilified. This Orange Baby gets away with this crap.”
It’s unbelievable, isn’t it? And the fact that he has people supporting him in this BS is appalling. I’m no longer puzzled/disappointed with the few people I know who support him, I’m flat out disgusted.
Conversely could you see Barak getting away with anything Trump represents? Three marriages with different baby mamas etc etc etc. (I start there because religious conservatives)
Um, no way. The double standard is beyond crazy.
Or Hillary? Three baby daddies? Grab ’em by the d**k?
Omg @susannetoo I just about DIED! I’m holding a sleeping newborn and I had to stop myself from laughing. Haha!!!
Actually you do need notes to respond to the question of whether the election is rigged. Obama doesn’t because he is both educated and intelligent (two traits Trump and his supporters loathe).
Appreciate the IDGAF attitude mentioned in the main article! Obama is baiting Trump and betcher bottom dollar Trump remarks on this tonight in Vegas. Awesome job all around Mr Prez!!
Meh. He didn’t have to give any hard figures and numbers, didn’t have to name remote places or people with difficult names, most of the things he said are common knowledge, especially when you’ve been through the process twice.
His argument was well-laid out, but then again, he’s a lawyer, they’re trained to do it.
I honestly do think that a lot of my educated friends could give answers just as good without prep and notes, especially if they could easily anticipate the question and give it some thought beforehand. But then again, I have a lot of ridiculously educated friends, so perhaps my perception is skewed.
I love what Obama said.
This is off topic, but I’m very upset about it so I hope it’s ok.
Yesterday at a rally, Trump invited a little girl on stage with him. He picked her up, and then tried to kiss her cheek. She pulled away. It’s being reported as “an awkward moment” for Trump.
But it’s not an awkward moment. He once again crossed personal boundaries without permission, and it’s not cute or funny or awkward. I dare say it’s a form of assault. How are we supposed to teach our children to respect the bodies of others? It’s ok sometimes, for a grown man you don’t know, to kiss you? It’s not. I am wondering what her parents thought, though if they were attending a Trump rally and let her go to him, knowing all they might know about his behaviours, they don’t think twice about the mixed messages it’s sending to our children.
I’m very disturbed by the media reaction.
Really? There goes my breakfast! So disgusting to do that to a stranger’s child. This man belongs in jail.
Yes, I watched that video and found it disturbing. She did not look like she wanted him touching her – and from the things he has said about young girls I was just so grossed out by it.
Can we please have some sort of referendum to vote to keep President Obama in office until this country of truly talented, remarkable individuals can offer up better candidates for BOTH parties? I hate being left to choose between the lesser of two evils. We’ve GOT to be a laughing stock worldwide.
To this day, I envy the voters of the 5th Congressional District of Georgia, who in 1986, got to choose between Julian Bond and John Lewis. It’s too infrequently now that we get two or more such qualified candidates. Here in Alabama the choices are usually between bad and worse.
And, YES, on keeping the Obamas!
There’s really no comparison, tho. One of them is qualified to do the job, and already knows all the word leaders. The other one is barely qualified to be on reality television, and is an actual criminal. She will do a fine job.
There have been much more ‘evil’ presidents than Hillary.
So, why is she suddenly the devil? Or do you just repeat what others say without really knowing why?
Honk for Barack!
“A whiney tiny fisted sucky baby”, followed with the most perfect Trump tantrum picture….thank you Kaiser, thank you. Lolololol…….
I will miss Obama so much. I have actually cried about this. ?????? I am happy to vote for Hilary, I genuinely believe she will make a competent, trust worthy president. And I am proud of her for fighting in the political trenches for so long, and coming away with the title first female president. But…..my heart belongs to the Obamas. *sniff*
Also, if anyone is interested Frontline has an awesome profile documentary of Hilary and Trump, kind of a side by side history of their lives. It is worth it for the old hippy pictures of Hilary, trust me! Seriously, it’s really good though.
I wish Bill Maher was in the audience tonight so when Trump starts his every one is against him in the media speil .. Bill could call out Trump by his appropriate name.. “Whinny lil Bitch”
Love Bill Maher, he really loathes Trump, he should be sitting in the front row of the debate.
Love Bill Maher. He’s the younger cousin of the great George Carlin, who would have given people a lot to chew on with his skewering of the likes of Trump. Pity he’s gone…but never forgotten.
It’s all been said by Larry Sinclair, google it.
Love this man!