Obama to GOP: You fed the crazy
COLUMBUS - President Barack Obama's message to Republicans on their candidate Donald Trump? You built this.
"The problem is not all Republicans think the way that guy does," Obama told about 2,000 people at the Ohio Democratic Party's fundraising dinner in Columbus. "The problem is they’ve been riding this tiger for a long time. They’ve been feeding this base all kinds of crazy for years.”
The president also had tough words for Republicans, like Sen. Rob Portman and Ohio Auditor Dave Yost, who recently rescinded their support for Trump's bid after a video showed the GOP nominee bragging about kissing and groping women. Portman, of Terrace Park, has a double-digit lead over Democratic former Gov. Ted Strickland.
The dinner was just days after that 11-year-old video showed Trump using vulgar language as he spoke to former "Access Hollywood" host Billy Bush. On Wednesday, multiple stories, including in the New York Times and People magazine, broke about women who said Trump had touched them inappropriately. The Trump campaign has denied the allegations and threatened to sue the New York Times.
"They don’t get credit for at the very last minute when finally the guy that they nominated and they endorsed and they supported is caught on tape saying things that no decent person would even think, much less say, much less brag about, much less laugh about or joke about, much less act on," Obama said. "You can't wait till that happens then say it's too much."
Just call him the campaigner-in-chief.
Republicans were less amused: "That rhetoric won't work in our state, which reelected the entire Republican statewide ticket by double digits in 2014," said Ohio Republican Party spokeswoman Brittany Warner said.
Obama slammed Trump – who was speaking to a Cincinnati rally at the exact same time – for his rhetoric and actions toward women. But he reserved some of his harshest criticism for Republicans, who knew better and didn't stop fringe parts of their party that fed on conspiracies like the allegation that Obama wasn't born in America.
"Don't act like this started with Donald Trump. He took it to a whole other level. I have to give him credit," Obama said.
That might resonate with some Republicans in Ohio, who chose Gov. John Kasich over Trump in the primary. But Clinton and Trump are locked in a close race in Ohio. They were virtually tied in two polls released Thursday.
"If you know Ohio, it’s going to be close," Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper said. But “Donald Trump couldn’t even win the primary here. This isn’t Trump country.”
This wasn't exactly a crowd of undecided voters, though.
"Every day, there's going to be more women and more tapes and more examples of Donald Trump's lack of character. I cannot imagine how Donald Trump can be elected to anything by Nov. 8," said Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Cleveland.
Obama had a tough act to follow: First Lady Michelle Obama. She proved herself as the Clinton campaign's No. 1 surrogate at a New Hampshire event Thursday morning: 'I can't believe that I'm saying that a candidate for president of the United States has bragged about sexually assaulting women."
Or as her husband put it: “She was pretty good."
Obama's visit was part of a busy day in politics for Ohio, a key swing state in the presidential election. Republican candidate Donald Trump spoke to millennial voters in Columbus before hosting a rally in Cincinnati Thursday night. Both Obama and former President Bill Clinton will campaign for Hillary Clinton Friday: Obama in Cleveland and Bill Clinton in Over-the-Rhine.
USA Today contributed to this article.