Image via Complex Original
U.S. President Barack Obama may not attack his opponents as overtly as Donald Trump, but he's still found some subtle ways to throw shade at the GOP frontrunner.
Most recently, Obama said at a Los Angeles fundraiser on Thursday that he wouldn't hedge his bets on the real estate mogul's presidency, ABC reported.
"One of you pulled me aside and squeezed me hard and said, 'Tell me... that Mr. Trump is not succeeding you!'" he told the crowd. "And I said, 'Mr. Trump's not succeeding me.'"
He added, “Mr. Trump has actually done a service, as Mr. Cruz is doing a service, and that is laying bare, unvarnished some of the nonsense that we have been dealing with in Congress on a daily basis."
“We should thank Mr. Trump and Mr. Cruz for just being honest that this is how we're thinking these days, or not thinking these days."
POTUS called out the GOP candidates' questionable rhetoric in the most graceful way possible: by thanking the candidates.
Here are three other times Obama has managed to elegantly read Trump:
1. When he wished him luck on his border wall
Obama is one of many critics of Trump's proposed wallalong the U.S.-Mexico border.
On Tuesday, he told reporters at the White House that the wall would have serious consequences for Mexico's economy and the relationship between the countries.
“The notion that we are going to track every Western Union bit of money that’s being sent to Mexico—good luck with that,” he advised the GOP candidate.
2. When he said Trump lacks knowledge of 'the world, generally'
According to Obama, Trump doesn't just lack an understand of nuclear weapons—he's ignorant about the whole damn world.
At a press conference at the Nuclear Security Summit last Friday, Obama was asked about Trump's suggestion that Japan and South Korea manufacture nuclear weapons, as well as his claim that he'd consider using nuclear weapons against Europe.
Obama's response? These opinions "tell us the person who made the statements doesn't know much about foreign policy, or nuclear policy, or the Korean Peninsula or the world generally."
And "the person who made the statements" is, of course, Trump. See how he insults him without really insulting him?
3. When he described a Trump presidency as a comedy skit
Thursday wasn't the first time Obama was asked about the possibility of a Trump presidency.
On NBC's The Today Show in January, host Matt Lauer asked Obama if he could imagine Trump in office.
"I can imagine it in a 'Saturday Night [Live]' skit," POTUS quipped back.
Still, he added, "Look, anything's possible, and I think we shouldn't be complacent."
Though Obama hasn't come out in favor of Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders, we know who he's not supporting. Fortunately for us, he always manages to state this in the most entertaining way possible.
This post originally appeared on NTRSCTN.com
