US President Barack Obama has said that presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s record low favourability ratings show that he does not have a broad-based support within the country.
In an interview to National Public Radio, Obama cited Trump’s high negative rating to prove his point.
“I think it’s pretty hard to argue that somebody who almost three-quarters of the country thinks is unqualified to be president and has a negative opinion about is tapping into the zeitgeist of the country or is speaking for a broad base of the country. But we’ll find out,” Obama said.
Latest opinion polls indicate that Trump is trailing behind Hillary Clinton, Democratic presidential nominee, by more than 10 points.
“I think it’s important for Democrats, progressives, moderates, people who care about our traditions, who care about pluralism, who care about tolerance, who care about facts, who think climate change is real, who think that we have to reform our immigration system in an intelligent way, who believe in women’s equality and equality for the LGBT community? I think it’s important for those of us not to be complacent, not to be smug,” he said.
“The one thing I’ve tried to do during the course of my presidency is to take seriously the objections and the criticisms and the concerns of people who didn’t vote for me,” he said.
Obama said the core of his message has been that the country is better when together.
“I do not believe in stoking divisions and scapegoating. I think that people have common hopes and common dreams and I think that America is at its best when we are unified and working together,” he said.
