Obama Warns NYC Donors: ‘Weird Stuff Happens,’ Trump Might Win
President Barack Obama warns that Donald Trump might beat Hillary Clinton in November, even with her efforts to tag him as a xenophobic bigot who does not represent America.
“[T]his shouldn’t be close, but it’s close,” Obama told a group of donors in New York City on Tuesday. “The presidential race we should win, but Donald Trump got the nomination, so weird stuff happens.”
The audience laughed in response to Obama’s warning, but he urged them to invest to help Clinton across the finish line.
“I genuinely believe that the basic character of this country and our capacity to meet the challenges that all of you are aware of is dependent on what happens now,” he said. “The stakes are really high.”
Obama mocked Republican party for their divisions, pointing out that he didn’t even have to veto very much legislation.
Under Speaker Paul Ryan, he noted, House Republicans “can’t even pass their own priorities”
“I don’t generally even have to veto anything because they can’t get organized enough even to present the cockamamie legislation that they’re interested in passing,” he said, as the audience laughed.
Obama proclaimed that the election was the most important in the audience’s lifetime, although he was self-aware that the argument had been used before.
“It is a cliché that every election is the most important in our lifetime,” he said. “But I got to tell you, this one? This one counts.”
Earlier in the day, Obama campaigned for Clinton in Philadelphia urging his supporters to back her.
“I am really into electing Hillary Clinton,” he said. “This is not me going through the motions here. I really, really, really want to elect Hillary Clinton.”