--- title: President Obama Defends ISIS Strategy, Blasts Trump on NPR description: President Obama sits for a wide-ranging end-of-the-year interview with National Public Radio canonical: https://time.com/4156780/president-obama-says-trump-campaign-exploiting-fear-and-anger/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-21T13:36:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:56:45.374Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Obama Defends ISIS Strategy, Blasts Trump on NPR og:description: President Obama sits for a wide-ranging end-of-the-year interview with National Public Radio og:url: https://time.com/4156780/president-obama-says-trump-campaign-exploiting-fear-and-anger/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4625c012d04ed0fc/698876590a4a22befd9c79e5/obama14.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: President Obama Holds Press Conference At White House og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Obama Defends ISIS Strategy, Blasts Trump on NPR twitter:description: President Obama sits for a wide-ranging end-of-the-year interview with National Public Radio twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4625c012d04ed0fc/698876590a4a22befd9c79e5/obama14.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Obama Says Trump Campaign 'Exploiting' Fear and Anger > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Donald Trump: 'I Have to Win' [Watch (HLS stream): Donald Trump: 'I Have to Win'](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/RaDVQ2PJ.m3u8) (2:30)  _Published 2015-12-09. Watch Time magazine's interview with Donald Trump for Person of the Year_ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Dec 21, 2015 1:36 PM UTC  President Obama speaks to the media at the White House on Dec. 18, 2015 in Washington, DC. President Obama speaks to the media at the White House on Dec. 18, 2015 in Washington, DC. Mark Wilson—Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Dec 21, 2015 1:36 PM UTC President Barack Obama said Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is “taking advantage of” the frustration, fear, and anger many middle Americans feel as demographics in the country continue to shift. In a wide-ranging interview with NPR—President Obama touched on the historic Paris climate deal, what he hopes of his successor (who he suspects will be a Democrat), and weighed in on the various on-campus movements that sprang up throughout the past year—Obama said Trump’s campaign plays right into racial fears that have long existed in the U.S. “I do think that the country is inexorably changing, I believe in all kinds of positive ways,” he said, saying when he talks to his teenaged daughters and their friends he is hopeful for the next generation. But he adds, the combination of demographic change and economic hardship has led many to feel like they’re being left behind. “You combine those things and it means that there is going to be potential anger, frustration, fear,” Obama said. “Some of it justified but just misdirected. I think somebody like Mr. Trump is taking advantage of that. That’s what he’s exploiting during the course of his campaign.” Trump has been widely criticized for calling for an outright ban on Muslims entering the U.S., statements he has largely stood by though he offered some flexibility in the days following his initial statement. Trump’s campaign launch featured divisive rhetoric geared toward Mexican immigrants, whom he referred to as criminals and “rapists.” And supporters at Trump rallies have also reportedly attacked a number of protesters who have challenged the candidate on issues like Black Lives Matter and immigration. President Obama said his election to the nation’s highest office and his background as the nation’s first black president in some ways “may represent change that worries” pockets of the Republican party. “But that’s not to suggest that everybody who objects to my policies may not have perfectly good reasons for it,” he said. “If you are living in a town that historically has relied on coal and you see coal jobs diminishing, you probably are going to be more susceptible to the argument that I’ve been wiping out the economy in your area.” President Obama also defended his administration’s ongoing strategy to combat Islamic State, or ISIS, saying the U.S.-led coalition that is carrying out airstrikes against the network has been “increasingly effective,” though he acknowledged his administration has a messaging problem when it comes to relaying that effectiveness and the overall strategy to the American people. The president said ISIS “is not an organization that can destroy the United States” but due to the nature of the most recent attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., both of which have been linked to the terror network” he understands why people are worried. Yet, Obama said, “what is important is for people to recognize that the power, the strength of the United States and its allies are not threatened by an organization like this.” Obama was also questioned about the nation’s identity after a year that brought forth pretty widespread change with the Black Lives Matter movement, the legalization of same-sex marriage, and discussion of admitting immigrants and refugees while the nation is on high alert for terror attacks. Listen to the full interview at [NPR](http://www.npr.org/2015/12/21/460030344/video-and-transcript-nprs-interview-with-president-obama). ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] [ NOISE ] I see your face. [ MUSIC ] My crowds have gotten larger. They've gotten even more energized to a point where we go into a place, whether it's New Hampshire, whether it's Iowa, whether it's Columbus, Ohio. No matter where I go, we have many more people than we anticipated. And the other thing I see now that I didn't see as much, tremendous energy, tremendous spirit. They want to make America great again. It's very simple. They want to make America great again. [ CROSSTALK ] [ APPLAUSE ] United States, Donald Trump. I am less politically correct than you're supposed to be and I will tell you, I don't do it purposely. I could be so politically correct you would sit with me and people would say, wow, he is such a fine person, he is a, I just don't have time for it. Political correctness takes a lot of time, takes a tremendous amount of time. We are lead by very, very stupid people. Mexico sends it's people. Oh I don't know what I said. They're not sending their best. I don't remember. Bringing drugs. Out of hundreds of deals that I've done. They're bringing crime. I've taken advantage of the laws of this country. They're rapists. We don't win anymore. And some, I assume, are good people. I'm really rich. I'll show you that myself. I was called by a major, major A reporter, whose name I won't use. He said, " How does it feel ?" I said, " How does what feel ?" " What you've done has never been done in the history of United States politics. I say, " What do you mean by that ?" He said, " Nobody has ever done what you've done. The energy, the crowds, the whole concept of what you've done has never been done ." And I said, " Well, what have I done? I haven't won ." If I don't win it's just a waste of time as far as I'm concerned. I will consider it a giant waste of time. He said, no you're wrong, if you don't win you have still done something that's never been done before. I tend to disagree with him, I think I have to win. I'm about winning. 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