May 26, 2016

Obama: World Leaders Are “Rattled” by Donald Trump

The president said the real estate magnate was more concerned with “getting tweets and headlines” than actual policy.


President Barack Obama on Thursday said world leaders are “rattled” by the possibility of a Donald Trump presidency, and for “good reason.”

“They are paying very close attention to this election,” Obama told reporters during a press conference in Japan at the end of the first day of the G7 summit. “I think it’s fair to say they are surprised by the Republican nominee. They are not sure how seriously to take some of his pronouncements.”

The president went on to suggest the real estate magnate was more concerned with generating controversy on social media than American safety and foreign policy.

“A lot of the proposals that he’s made display either ignorance of world affairs or a cavalier attitude or an interest in getting tweets and headlines instead of actually thinking through what is required to keep America safe and secure and prosperous,” Obama added.

During his campaign, Trump has made China the target of frequent attacks, even accusing the country of “raping” America in trade policy. The presumptive Republican nominee has also recommended American military forces abandon their stations in South Korea and Japan, replacing troops with nuclear options.

While Obama said world leaders were apprehensive about the unlikely rise and possible success of Trump’s candidacy, at least one news agency reporting Obama’s press conference on Thursday appeared a bit more confident, even if by accident:

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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