Obama says Trump appeals to 'folks who feel left out'

(Image credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

last updated 4 September 2016

Speaking with CNN's Fareed Zakaria in an interview aired Sunday, President Obama offered his perspective on what parts of American society find Donald Trump's candidacy appealing — and, perhaps more important, what parts don't.

"[I]f you look at the current polls, he's been able to appeal to a certain group of folks who feel left out or are worried about the rapidity of demographic change, social change, who, in some cases, have very legitimate concerns around the economy and feeling left behind," Obama said. "But that's not the majority of America. And if you talk to younger people, the next generation of Americans, they completely reject the kinds of positions that he's taking."

Obama also expressed optimism that impulses of mistrust toward outsiders which help fuel Trump's campaign will fade over time, as similar feelings have previously faded in American history. "[T]he long-term trend is people get absorbed, people get assimilated," Obama argued, "and we benefit from this incredible country in which the measure of your patriotism and how American you are is not the color of your skin, your last name, your faith, but rather your adherence to a creed, your belief in certain principles and values."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox