Obama Blasts GOP Candidates for Denying Climate Change — and Says Trump Won’t Be President

Obama, following two days of negotiations at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in California, was asked by NBC News’ Ron Allen about how foreign leaders at the event had reacted to GOP front-runner Donald Trump’s call for a ban on Muslims entering the country.

“I think foreign observers are troubled by some of the rhetoric that’s been taking place in these Republican primaries and Republican debates,” Obama responded.  But he added that the feeling wasn’t confined to Trump’s comments.  “He may up the ante in anti-Muslim sentiment,” said the president, “but if you look at what the other Republicans have said, that’s pretty troubling, too.”

Obama then criticized the candidates’ positions on immigration (watch above), before turning to global warming.  “They’re all denying climate change,” he said.  “I think that’s troubling to the international community, since the science is unequivocal … The other countries around the world, they kind of count on the United States being on the side of science and reason and common sense, because they know that if the United States does not act on big problems in smart ways, nobody will.”

“This is not just Mr. Trump,” Obama continued.  “There’s not a single candidate in the Republican primary that thinks we should do anything about climate change, that thinks it’s serious.”

Read more at Obama Blasts GOP Candidates for Denying Climate Change — and Says Trump Won’t Be President