--- title: Barack Obama on Donald Trump : 'This Is Not a Reality Show' description: "This is a really serious job." canonical: https://time.com/4321376/barack-obama-donald-trump-reality-show/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-05-06T17:28:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:42:03.175Z article:section: Politics og:title: Obama Hits Trump: 'This Is Not a Reality Show' og:description: "We are in serious times and this is a really serious job." og:url: https://time.com/4321376/barack-obama-donald-trump-reality-show/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4514ca24ce52dcdf/6988923be20a877313a90bd5/barack-obama-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: U.S. President Obama attends a comedy show celebrating Military Appreciation Month as well as the 5th anniversary of Joining Forces and the 75th anniversary of the USO at Joint Base Andrews in Clinton, Maryland og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama Hits Trump: 'This Is Not a Reality Show' twitter:description: "We are in serious times and this is a really serious job." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4514ca24ce52dcdf/6988923be20a877313a90bd5/barack-obama-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Barack Obama Hits Donald Trump: 'This Is Not a Reality Show' > 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: A More "Presidentially Correct" Trump? [Watch (HLS stream): A More "Presidentially Correct" Trump?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Jq72wMzX.m3u8) (1:38)  _Published 2016-05-05. We're tracking Trump statements with Time's Presidential-o-Meter to see how "Presidentially Correct" he can sound._ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan May 6, 2016 5:28 PM UTC  President Barack Obama at Joint Base Andrews in Clinton, Md., on May 5, 2016. President Barack Obama at Joint Base Andrews in Clinton, Md., on May 5, 2016. Carlos Barria—Reuters by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan May 6, 2016 5:28 PM UTC President Obama addressed the [political ascension of businessman Donald Trump](http://time.com/4319112/donald-trump-wins-the-nomination-now-what/), who became the presumptive Republican presidential nominee following his win in Indiana this week. He did not mince words. “We are in serious times and this is a really serious job,” he said in response to a question at a briefing with reporters on Friday. “This is not entertainment. This is not a reality show. This is a contest for the presidency of the United States.” Obama has emerged as one of the[ loudest voices questioning Donald Trump’s positions and policies](http://time.com/4274568/obama-vulgar-divisive-2016/) as the presidential campaign plays out. From the podium of the White House Press Briefing Room on Friday, Obama called for an examination of the candidate’s record over the next several months. “He has a long record that needs to be examined and I think it’s important for us to take seriously the statements he’s made in the past,” Obama said. Every candidate, he added, needs to be subjected to “exacting standards” and “genuine scrutiny.” What that means, Obama said, is if a candidate has presents an answer to a problem that “is completely implausible and it would not work, that needs to be reported on. The American people need to know that.” The president was also asked to weigh in on recent statements made by [Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan,](http://time.com/4320139/donald-trump-paul-ryan-republican-party/) who said he was not yet ready to endorse Trump’s candidacy.”There’s no doubt that there is a debate going on in the Republican party about who they are and what they represent,” he said. Obama, however, had less to say about the Democratic primary process where his former Secretary of State is facing a lingering challenge from Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. The president said though it is likely that the two campaigns will soon have to sit down for a conversation about what will happen at the Democratic National Convention this summer. The president’s role in the 2016 election cycle has become clearer as the process has carried on—though he hasn’t publicly taken a side on the Democratic front, he’s focused on counteracting the positions and policies introduced by Republican candidates. His efforts took a comedic turn last week at the [White House Correspondent’s Dinner ](http://time.com/4313643/white-house-correspondents-dinner-2016-president-obama-video/)last week when the president joked about his poll numbers being as high as he had once gotten while in college. The reason for his sudden likability, he joked, was Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz’s candidacies. ## Transcript So there have been reports that you've been getting pressure from your staff to act more presidential, is that the case? Do you need to act more presidential? No, no, not at all. We have had no pressure to act more presidential. The Trump administration will lead a free world. Sir, with all due respect, that's the argument of a five year old. I didn't start it. That is properly armed and funded. Every parent knows a kid who says he- That's not a five year old. Excuse me, when I become president, the days of treating Israel like a second class citizen will end. Now I have a lot of friends, by the way, Mitt Romney is not one of them. Did he choke? I would like to talk today about how to develop a new foreign policy direction for our country. We can't continue to allow. To rape our country. One that replaces randomness with purpose. Ideology with strategy and chaos with peace. Here's a guy, throwing punches, nasty as hell, screaming at everything else. I'd like to punch him in the face. The countries we are defending must pay For the cost of this defense. We're gonna knock the **** out of ISIS. [ APPLAUSE ] Gonna knock the **** out of them. Governor Kasich and Senator Cruz have really, really hurt themselves. Somebody has to be where the belt's going in because the belt moves this way. It moves this way. [ LAUGH ] It moves that way. We have won millions of more votes than Senator Cruz, a lying Ted, lying. He's a lying guy! I felt that I had to hit back very hard, but at the right time I will be so presidential you will be so bored. 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