Obama to Trump: Respect America’s secret as you campaign

Trump

Days after bluntly declaring Donald Trump unfit to be commander in chief, President Obama warned the Republican nominee on Thursday to watch what he says after he gets the traditional pre-election classified briefings.
 

Obama told reporters in a rare press conference at the Pentagon that he would follow longstanding tradition and provide intelligence briefings to Trump and his rival, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

“What I will say is they have been told these are classified briefings. 

And if they want to be president, they’ve got to start acting like a president. And that means being able to now receive these briefings and not spread them around,” the president said.

Obama blasted Trump on Monday as “unfit to serve as president” and pressured senior Republicans who have endorsed the brash entrepreneur to consider rescinding their support in light of frequent controversial or purely false statements.

“There has to come a point at which you say ‘enough,’” the president declared.

On Thursday, Obama said Trump qualified for classified briefings because “if somebody’s the Republican nominee for president, they need to get security briefings so that if they were to win, they are not starting from scratch in terms of being prepared for this office.”

Obama also ridiculed Trump’s contention that the November election may be “rigged” against him, comparing the former reality show star to a child unhappy he lost a game.

“The federal government does not run the election process,” the president said after a reporter asked about Trump’s allegation. 

“That’s ridiculous. That doesn’t make any sense.”

Obama underlined that states and localities run elections, while the federal government helps local governments ensure that voting machines are secure and enforces federal laws protecting voting rights.