President Barack Obama said today what many Americans are thinking: Donald Trump is “unfit to serve” as president.
At a press conference, Obama said:
The notion that he would attack a Gold Star family that made such extraordinary sacrifices on behalf of our country, the fact that he doesn’t appear to have basic knowledge around critical issues in Europe, in the Middle East, in Asia means that he is woefully unprepared to do this job.
Obama questioned why Republicans in Congress (specifically mentioning House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell) continue to endorse the childlike strongman despite condemning nearly everything he says and does:
I recognize that they all profoundly disagree with myself or Hillary Clinton on tax policy or on certain elements of foreign policy. But you know, there have been Republican presidents with whom I disagreed with but I didn’t have a doubt that they could function as president.
The question I think that they have to ask themselves: If you are repeatedly having to say in very strong terms that what he has said is unacceptable, why are you still endorsing him? What does this say about your party that this is your standard-bearer?
This is daily and weekly where they are distancing themselves from statements he’s making. There has to be a point at which you say this is not somebody I can support for president of the United States.
It’s not just Democrats. U.S. Rep. Richard Hanna, Republican of New York, said today that he is backing Hillary Clinton for president because Trump “is a national embarrassment. Is he really the guy you want to have the nuclear codes?” Hanna also stated that Trump was “unfit to serve.” He is the first member of Republican member of Congress to back Clinton over Trump, despite widespread recognition on both sides of the aisle that Trump is an unhinged, uninformed, erratic clown with authoritarian instincts.