Trump says his Obama as ISIS founder comment ‘sarcasm’

“I think it was said just this week that the way Donald Trump talks about terrorism and his very insulting language towards Muslims is making him the recruiting sergeant for ISIS”, Clinton said.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev made similar remarks late past year, although both Russian leaders sounded more measured in their comments than Trump, placing more blame on us policies for fostering ISIS than on Obama personally. Trump said in a tweet. “Regardless of party, voters are increasingly concerned that Mr Trump’s tendency to bully, demean and degrade others sends the wrong message to our children”, Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta said.

Ms Clinton has attacked Mr Trump for the remarks, writing on Twitter: “It can be hard to muster outrage as frequently as Donald Trump should cause it, but his smear against president Obama requires it”.

Yeah, it’s CNN’s fault for reporting your own words verbatim. The comment sparked a quick backlash from Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans, with Clinton senior policy advisor Jake Sullivan saying that he was “echoing the talking points of Putin”.

Addressing supporters at a rally in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the real estate tycoon said the jihadist group is “honouring President Obama”.

He even stuck to his guns when he was given the chance to clarify the remark by conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt Thursday. “He is the founder of ISIS”, Trump said, using a term for ISIS.

He appeared to be mimicking the argument that the USA troop withdrawal from Iraq under Obama, with Clinton serving as secretary of state, created a vacuum that allowed the Islamic State group to emerge and flourish in Iraq and Syria.

Most offensive, apparently, were the outlets like ABC that ran stories explaining who actually did found ISIS.

“No, Barack Obama is not the founder of Isis”.

Trump: “I don’t care”.

President Obama did not, in fact, establish the terrorist organization. I know what you meant.

It’s comments like those that Clinton has seized to try to contrast her “serious, steady leadership” with the more volatile approach she says Trump would take to running the country.

Republicans frequently trace the birth of Islamic State to the Obama administration’s decision to withdraw the last USA forces from Iraq by the end of 2011.

“The conflict in Syria created a ideal vacuum in terms of governance, and so the civil war became an opportunity for the restoration of the organization”, he told the Post.