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Obama: Donald Trump Shouldn't Be Graded 'On A Curve'

President Obama speaks during a news conference in Vientiane, Laos, Thursday.
Carolyn Kaster
/
AP
President Obama speaks during a news conference in Vientiane, Laos, Thursday.

President Obama repeated his argument that Donald Trump is not qualified to be president.

He urged both voters and journalists to pay careful attention to what he called Trump's "uninformed or outright wacky ideas," and not to grade the Republican White House nominee "on a curve."

Somehow behavior that in normal times we would consider completely unacceptable and outrageous becomes normalized"

"Somehow behavior that in normal times we would consider completely unacceptable and outrageous becomes normalized" during an election campaign, Obama said Thursday at the conclusion of a southeast Asian summit meeting in Laos.

"I can tell you from the interactions that I've had over the last eight or nine days with foreign leaders, that this is serious business," Obama said, "and you actually have to know what you're talking about, and you actually have to have done your homework. And when you speak, it should actually reflect thought-out policy that you can implement."

Obama was also asked to respond to Trump's comment in a televised forum that Vladimir Putin is a stronger leader for Russia than he's been for the United States.

"I think I've already offered my opinion," Obama said. "I don't think the guy is qualified to be President of the United States. And every time he speaks, that opinion is confirmed."

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Scott Horsley is NPR's Chief Economics Correspondent. He reports on ups and downs in the national economy as well as fault lines between booming and busting communities.