Washington: US President Barack Obama believes that a majority of Americans specially youngsters “completely reject” the kind of positions taken by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
“He (Trump) has 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. But that’s not the majority of America,” Obama said in an interview aired on CNN.
“And if you talk to younger people, the next generation of Americans, they completely reject the kinds of positions that he’s taking,” Obama said in the interview which was recorded before his travel to Asia.
“So, you know, we have to take it seriously. I think that any time we hear intolerance, any time that we hear policy measures that are contrary to our values, banning certain classes of people because of who they are or what they look like, what faith they practice, then we have to be pretty hard about saying no to that,” Obama said.
Obama said America will do that this time and he was optimistic about it. However, the US President said there was a need to pay close attention to what is going on.
Dwelling into history, Obama said there has been a long tradition in the United States of inclusion, immigration diversity.
“But also people, once they’re included in what they consider to be the real America, worrying about outsiders contaminating, polluting, messing up a good thing,” he said.
“That’s not new. That dates back to the beginning of this country. What I’m always reminding people is that, although you’ll see bumps…Of anti-immigrant sentiment directed at the Irish or Southern Europeans as opposed to Northern Europeans, or the Chinese, or today, Latinos or Muslims — the long-term trend is people get absorbed, people get assimilated.”
“We benefit from this incredible country in which the measure of your patriotism and how American you are is not the colour of your skin, your last name, your faith, but rather your adherence to a creed. Your belief in certain principles and values,” Obama said.
“I don’t expect that that’s going to change simply because Mr Trump has gotten a little more attention than usual,” he added.
PTI