President Barack Obama’s spokesman angrily lashed out at Donald Trump for proposing a ban on Muslim immigration to the United States, and accused him of “offensive bluster” and “grotesque and offensive” language.
“The fact is, that what Donald Trump said yesterday disqualifies him from serving as president,” spokesman Josh Earnest said, suggesting to reporters that his words were fundamentally anti-American.
Earnest denounced Trump’s “carnival barker routine” which included “outright lies” and mocked the Republican frontrunner for having “fake hair.” He said:
The Trump campaign, for months now, has had a dustbin of history-like quality to it, from the vacuous sloganeering to the outright lies to even the fake hair, the whole carnival barker routine that we’ve seen for some time now.
Earnest also denounced other Republicans for continuing to say that they would support the nominee of the Republican party even it was Donald Trump.
Earnest suggested the Republican Party is racist for failing to denounce Trump’s presidential campaign, and he reminded reporters that House Majority Whip Steve Scalise once called himself “David Duke without the baggage.” He said:
Earlier this year, House Republicans elected to their leadership somebody who famously bragged to a reporter that he’s David Duke without the baggage.
“They should say right now that they will not support him for president,” Earnest said, as he called Trump’s proposal “morally reprehensible.”
Earnest said Republicans leaders should:
Say right now that they would not support Donald Trump for president. What he said is disqualifying and any Republican who’s too fearful of the Republican base to admit it has no business serving as president either. OK?
When asked why the White House had decided to weigh in on Trump’s hair, Earnest defended the topic as an important part of the campaign.
“Well I guess I was describing why it would be easy for people to dismiss the Trump campaign as not particularly serious,” he said.
“Because of his hair?” one reporter asked in disbelief.
“Well because he’s got a rather outrageous appearance, that’s the hallmark of his campaign and his identity, though, that’s the point I’m trying to cite there,” he said.
“How do you know that it’s fake?” asked a second reporter.
“Well I guess I’m happy to be fact checked,” Earnest replied.