Trump lacks preparation, temperament to be President: Obama

US President Barack Obama repeated on Tuesday that the Republican candidate for the White House, Donald Trump, lacks the temperament and preparation necessary to occupy the Oval Office, in his first reaction to the televised debate on Monday night between the real estate magnate and his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.

"Anybody who was watching the debate, I think got a sense that you got really sharply-contrasting visions about where we should take the country," EFE news quoted Obama as saying in a radio interview on the Ryan Seacrest show.

Obama said he was "admittedly biased" in favour of Clinton, whom he said is "well-prepared" and has the "right temperament for the job" of President, as well as being highly respected by everyone.

"I would say that (Trump) doesn't have the preparation, the temperament, or the core values of inclusion and making everybody have opportunities that would take our country forward," Obama said about the businessman-turned-politician.

In recent months the President has said on a number of occasions that he considers Trump unfit and unprepared to occupy the Oval Office.

At his daily press conference, Obama spokesman Josh Earnest confirmed that the President had watched the debate this Monday night in the White House.

Earnest noted Clinton's strong arguments, particularly at the outset of the debate, when she laid out her economic strategy, similar to what Obama has pursued during his presidency.

According to the spokesman, one reason Obama gave the radio interview on Tuesday on the Ryan Seacrest show was to help promote National Voter Registration Day for the November elections, because, he said, "every election is a big election; this one is especially big just because there's such big differences between the two candidates, and people need to register to vote".

--IANS

lok/