Barack Obama: “Donald Trump Will Not Be President Because It’s a Serious Job”

Donald Trump will not be president, says President Barack Obama, because it’s a “serious job”.

Speaking at the ASEAN economic summit in California, the president was asked by a reporter about Donald Trump.

“I continue to believe that Mr. Trump will not be president. And the reason is because I have a lot of faith in the American people,” said Barack Obama.

Donald Trump is the frontrunner in the Republican race to be his party’s choice for the White House.

He has won one state primary already, and leads the polls in South Carolina, where Republicans vote on February 20.

The electorate will not pick him, said Barack Obama, because “they recognize that being president is a serious job”.

“It’s not hosting a talk show or a reality show, it’s not promotion, it’s not marketing, it’s hard. It’s not a matter of pandering and doing whatever will get you in the news on a given day.”

Donald Trump responded by saying it was a compliment to be criticized by a president who had done so much damage to the country.

His antipathy to Barack Obama goes back a number of years – he used to demand that the president produce proof that he was born in the US.

His election campaign has continuously made headlines, for controversial remarks and policies.

Donald Trump said he would deport 11 million undocumented immigrants, build a wall on the southern border paid for by Mexico and that Muslims should be stopped from entering the US.

His chief rival is Texas Senator Ted Cruz, but one of his other rivals, the big-spending former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, will be hoping for a better performance after disappointment in Iowa and New Hampshire.