--- title: State of the Union: Obama Warns Against Trump Muslim Focus description: The President puts himself into the 2016 debate canonical: https://time.com/4178434/president-obama-scolds-donald-trump-for-focus-on-muslims/ author: Charlotte Alter article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-13T03:29:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T14:04:35.372Z article:section: Politics og:title: Watch Obama Scold Against Trump-Style Islamophobia og:description: "This isn’t a matter of political correctness. " og:url: https://time.com/4178434/president-obama-scolds-donald-trump-for-focus-on-muslims/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt71dac24bc6c07e53/698878e5cd1bba1e7f6feecc/gettyimages-504722960.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: GettyImages-504722960 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch Obama Scold Against Trump-Style Islamophobia twitter:description: "This isn’t a matter of political correctness. " twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt71dac24bc6c07e53/698878e5cd1bba1e7f6feecc/gettyimages-504722960.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Obama Scolds Donald Trump for Focus on Muslims  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Jan 13, 2016 3:29 AM UTC  President Obama urged Americans to keep the threat of terrorism in perspective in his final State of the Union address Tuesday night. President Obama urged Americans to keep the threat of terrorism in perspective in his final State of the Union address Tuesday night.Evan Vucci / Pool / Getty Images  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Jan 13, 2016 3:29 AM UTC President Obama had some strong words for Republican candidates—especially party frontrunner Donald Trump—who have been warning that Muslims pose a threat in the United States. “We need to reject any politics that targets people because of race or religion,” he said. “This isn’t a matter of political correctness. It’s a matter of understanding what makes us strong.” Trump proposed a temporary ban on all Muslims from entering the United States after the terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., and he often mocks the positions of his opponents as “politically correct.” Obama warned that Trump and others could hurt the country. “When politicians insult Muslims, when a mosque is vandalized, or a kid bullied, that doesn’t make us safer. That’s not telling it like it is,” he said. “It’s just wrong. It diminishes us in the eyes of the world. It makes it harder to achieve our goals. And it betrays who we are as a country.” Trump seemed unfazed by the jab. > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/687108096926330880) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4178434/president-obama-scolds-donald-trump-for-focus-on-muslims/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4178434/president-obama-scolds-donald-trump-for-focus-on-muslims/"},"headline":"President Obama Scolds Donald Trump for Focus on Muslims","datePublished":"2016-01-13T03:29:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T14:04:35.372Z","description":"The President puts himself into the 2016 debate","url":"https://time.com/4178434/president-obama-scolds-donald-trump-for-focus-on-muslims/","keywords":["state of the union","Barack Obama","Obama","Muslim","Islam","Donald Trump","SOTU","trump"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt71dac24bc6c07e53/698878e5cd1bba1e7f6feecc/gettyimages-504722960.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlotte Alter","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt71dac24bc6c07e53/698878e5cd1bba1e7f6feecc/gettyimages-504722960.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"GettyImages-504722960","caption":"WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 12: President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill January 12, 2016 in Washington, D.C. 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