Obama on Trump: He has ‘outright wacky ideas’

As president, Obama said, “when you speak, it should actually reflect thought-out policy that you can implement”.

Obama said a shrinking the population of the camp is priority and that the existence of Guantanamo Bay is “a recruitment tool for terrorist organizations”.

United States President Barack Obama hit back at Donald Trump on Thursday for criticising his foreign policy record, saying the Republican nominee was unfit to follow him into the Oval Office and the public should press him on his “outright wacky ideas”.

Duterte and Obama have traded blows in a bruising diplomatic bust-up this week, culminating in a stand-off at an Asian summit over the crackdown in the Philippines which has left 3,000 dead.

Duterte has expressed regret for his outburst against Obama, and Philippine officials said he met briefly and informally with the USA president Wednesday before a banquet at the summit.

Duterte, who is known for his tough talk, blamed the media for spinning stories.

Speaking at a summit in Laos, Obama had urged Duterte to conduct his crime crackdown “the right way” with respect for the rule of law.

“I don’t take these comments personally, because it seems as if this is a phrase he’s used repeatedly, directed at the pope and others”, Obama said of the slur. “I give him a high score of 8.5”. “You can all go to hell, I will do what I think is best for my country”, he said.

Obama and Trump leaving leaders “rattled?”

“I realize this raises tensions”, Obama said earlier Thursday about the ruling. “But I also look forward to discussing how we can constructively move forward together to lower tensions and promote diplomacy and regional stability.”.

“In view of the situation, the [state] visit came at an opportune moment, as it provides new impetus to our efforts to increase partnerships between the two countries”, Jokowi said.

The White House said Obama had affirmed his support for Indias participation in the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a consortium aimed at preventing civilian nuclear technology from diverted for military use.

Trump had raised eyebrows on Wednesday by saying that Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, was “far more” of a leader than Obama and criticized the USA military, saying its generals “have been reduced to rubble”.

“As despicable as these [crime] networks may be and as much damage as they do, it is important, from our perspective, to make sure that we do it in the right way”, Obama said in Vientiane, Laos’ capital, while attending an ASEAN summit.