Obama: World leaders rightfully 'rattled' by Trump

President Barack Obama pauses during a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Shima, Japan, Wednesday, May 25, 2016. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
President Barack Obama pauses during a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Shima, Japan, Wednesday, May 25, 2016. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

SHIMA, Japan — President Barack Obama said Thursday that foreign leaders are "rattled" by Donald Trump and have good reason to feel that way, as he accused the presumptive Republican presidential nominee of ignorance about world affairs.

Weighing in on the Democratic race to replace him, Obama also downplayed concerns that the protracted fight between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders is hurting his party's chances, brushing off their escalating attacks as the inevitable "grumpiness" of a primary campaign.

Obama offered his assessment of the presidential campaign on the sidelines of a Group of Seven advanced economies summit in Japan. Obama said foreign leaders at the conference were unsure how seriously to take his pronouncements.

"They are rattled by it — and for good reason," Obama said. "Because a lot of the proposals he has made display either ignorance of world affairs, or a cavalier attitude, or an interest in getting tweets and headlines."

He contrasted that to proposals that thoughtfully address what's required to keep the U.S. safe and prosperous and "to keep the world on an even keel."

Read Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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