President Obama took shots at Donald Trump at a rally in Philadelphia, speaking on behalf of Hillary Clinton.
Obama tends to keep personal attacks out of his speeches, not directly referencing a candidate, but this time he let the audience know what exactly his opinion of Trump is.
Trump attacked Hillary Clinton after her sickness.
Obama used his speech to defend presidential candidate Hillary Clinton after he believed her to being “held to unfair standards during an uncommonly wild presidential campaign” according to the New York Times. Obama urged voters to go out from their homes and to vote for the person that has done so much, not the “shiny new thing,” he said referencing Trump.
Obama’s defense came after Clinton had come down with pneumonia and had to pause her campaign trail to rest and rehabilitate. He compared Clinton’s dedicated campaign with what he called a “reality show,” referring to the campaign Trump was leading.
He went on to criticize Trump’s business skills, as well as his praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Obama alluded that Putin is a role model to Trump for what a president should look like.
Obama accused Trump of showing no concern for the working class, as Trump claims to, and brought up the hot topic of Trump’s tax returns, which have yet to be revealed.
John Brown university students responded to Obama’s condemnation of Trump.
Sophomore psychology major Addie Adel isn’t shocked to hear what Obama had to say of Trump. “I don’t think exactly Hillary or Trump are winning popularity contests at this point and it doesn’t surprise me that Obama is endorsing somebody that is in his party.”
Adel’s only surprise is that it hadn’t come up sooner. “Trump’s not a likable character anyway. I think it’s actually taken a while for Obama to say something about it.”
Senior history major Elissa Branum sees Obama’s speech as being too influential in his role. “He currently has a lot of power and he could be using that to sway the vote,” Said Branum.
Branum understands where Obama is coming from, but doesn’t agree with the president’s approach. “It kinda seems inappropriate for the current president to take a stance on the upcoming election, just because it seems like something he shouldn’t be getting involved in. I don’t think its appropriate for him as the president to do it, but I don’t disagree with his position as a person.”
Sophomore history major Brandon Stewart is indifferent to Obama’s behavior, citing it as “basic politics.”
“He’s just supporting the candidate for his party. There’s nothing strange or unusual about it, to me… It’s just the way it works now, with American politics.” Stewart said.
Steward agreed with Branum, that perhaps Obama’s speech made him appear “unbecoming,” but “It’s Donald Trump and he kinda asks for it. He makes it really easy.”