The White House declined on Tuesday to explain President Obama’s Monday statement that Donald Trump is not “equipped” to be president.
“The president has himself said before that he doesn’t think that the American people are likely to choose [Trump] to be the next president,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said when asked to explain what Obama meant by his comment. “I think the president was merely repeating that belief.”
Pressed on why Obama used the word “equipped” when he criticized Trump’s candidacy and whether he meant he doesn’t have the right temperament or skills, Earnest said he would let the president elaborate on his comments if he chose to do so in the future.
Obama called out Trump on Monday for not being qualifed enough to be president, echoing a line Bernie Sanders used against Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary a month ago.
“He is not somebody who, even within the Republican Party, can be considered as equipped to deal with the problems of this office,” he told a report at an ABC-affiliate in New Hampshire during a sit-down interview Monday at the White House.
Although Trump is on a GOP primary winning streak, the president said he believes he will have a tough time beating the Democratic nominee in November.
