This is the first question and answer at his press conference Friday:
QUESTION: Thank you, sir.
Mr. President, what’s your reaction to Donald Trump becoming the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party this week? And given the delegate (inaudible), do you think it’s time for Bernie Sanders to step aside on the Democratic side?
OBAMA: Well, with respect to the Republican process and Mr. Trump, there’s going to be plenty of time to talk about his positions on various issues. He has a long record that needs to be examined. And I think it’s important for us to take seriously the statements he’s made in the past. But most importantly, and — and I speak to all of you in this room as reporters, as well as the American public, I think I just want to emphasize the degree to which we are in serious times and this is a really serious job. This is not entertainment, this is not a reality show. This is a contest for the presidency of the United States.
What that means is that every candidate, every nominee needs to be subject to exacting standards and genuine scrutiny. It means that you’ve got to make sure that their budgets add up. It means that if they say they’ve got an answer to a problem that it is actually plausible and that they have details for how it would work, and if it’s completely implausible and would not work, that needs to be reported on and the American people need to know that. You know, if they take a position on international issues that could threaten war or has the potential of upending our critical relationships with other countries or would potentially break the financial system, that needs to be reported on.
And, you know, the one thing that I’m going to really be looking for over the next six months is that the American people are effectively informed about where candidates stand on the issues, what they believe, making sure that their numbers add up, making sure that their policies have been vetted and that candidates are held to what they have said in the past. And if that happens, then I’m confident our democracy will work, and that’s true whether we’re talking about Mr. Trump or Ms. Clinton or Bernie Sanders or anybody else.
OBAMA: But what I’m concerned about is the degree to which reporting and information starts emphasizing the spectacle and the circus. Because we’re — that’s not something we can afford. And the American people, they’ve got good judgment, they’ve got good instincts, as long as they get good information.
All right?
All right. PISSED. He's PISSED. Nicholas D. Kristof has scourged himself and other pencils for just this. The $2 billion in free media coverage is a particular sore spot. The media should have acted more as gate-keepers, should have "vetted" Trump better. I did not take Kristof seriously. I know the media is called "The Fourth Estate" and that is in reality an accurate name for the de facto power they wield but they are not one of the ruling estates of the nation and they know that. The Constitution does not say, president-executive power, Congress-legislative power, judiciary-legal power, media-gatekeeper power and the media collectively is a bit chary of assuming that portfolio when they have no ministry. I don't have a television so I have not seen the electronic pencils reporting but I have not thought the written reporting was giving Trump a free pass. But now Obama is saying the same thing.
QUESTION: Thank you, sir.
Mr. President, what’s your reaction to Donald Trump becoming the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party this week? And given the delegate (inaudible), do you think it’s time for Bernie Sanders to step aside on the Democratic side?
OBAMA: Well, with respect to the Republican process and Mr. Trump, there’s going to be plenty of time to talk about his positions on various issues. He has a long record that needs to be examined. And I think it’s important for us to take seriously the statements he’s made in the past. But most importantly, and — and I speak to all of you in this room as reporters, as well as the American public, I think I just want to emphasize the degree to which we are in serious times and this is a really serious job. This is not entertainment, this is not a reality show. This is a contest for the presidency of the United States.
What that means is that every candidate, every nominee needs to be subject to exacting standards and genuine scrutiny. It means that you’ve got to make sure that their budgets add up. It means that if they say they’ve got an answer to a problem that it is actually plausible and that they have details for how it would work, and if it’s completely implausible and would not work, that needs to be reported on and the American people need to know that. You know, if they take a position on international issues that could threaten war or has the potential of upending our critical relationships with other countries or would potentially break the financial system, that needs to be reported on.
And, you know, the one thing that I’m going to really be looking for over the next six months is that the American people are effectively informed about where candidates stand on the issues, what they believe, making sure that their numbers add up, making sure that their policies have been vetted and that candidates are held to what they have said in the past. And if that happens, then I’m confident our democracy will work, and that’s true whether we’re talking about Mr. Trump or Ms. Clinton or Bernie Sanders or anybody else.
OBAMA: But what I’m concerned about is the degree to which reporting and information starts emphasizing the spectacle and the circus. Because we’re — that’s not something we can afford. And the American people, they’ve got good judgment, they’ve got good instincts, as long as they get good information.
All right?
All right. PISSED. He's PISSED. Nicholas D. Kristof has scourged himself and other pencils for just this. The $2 billion in free media coverage is a particular sore spot. The media should have acted more as gate-keepers, should have "vetted" Trump better. I did not take Kristof seriously. I know the media is called "The Fourth Estate" and that is in reality an accurate name for the de facto power they wield but they are not one of the ruling estates of the nation and they know that. The Constitution does not say, president-executive power, Congress-legislative power, judiciary-legal power, media-gatekeeper power and the media collectively is a bit chary of assuming that portfolio when they have no ministry. I don't have a television so I have not seen the electronic pencils reporting but I have not thought the written reporting was giving Trump a free pass. But now Obama is saying the same thing.
