Obama weighs in on the presidential race, says politics are a lot 'meaner' than they used to be

(Image credit: Aude Guerrucci-Pool/Getty Images)

President Obama finally told us what he's thinking about Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, and the Republican Party's presidential primary in an interview out Monday with Politico's Glenn Thrush for the "Off Message" podcast. His observations on the 2016 Republican race: Politics are a whole lot "meaner" than they were back when he took office, he said, specifically noting Ted Cruz and Donald Trump's "expression of frustration" that they're offering voters.

"You think about it: When I ran against John McCain, John McCain and I had real differences, sharp differences, but John McCain didn't deny climate science," Obama said. "John McCain didn't call for banning Muslims from the United States… [The] Republican vision has moved not just to the right, but has moved to a place that is unrecognizable."

As for the Democratic race, Obama still avoided offering endorsements, though Politico's Thrush notes that he "couldn’t hide his obvious affection for Clinton or his implicit feeling that she, not Sanders, best understands the unpalatably pragmatic demands" of being president. Obama called Clinton "wicked smart" and said that, based on her experiences, "she can govern and she can start here, day one, more experienced than any non-vice president has ever been who aspires to this office."