Obama: I Could Have Won if I Had Run for President Again

President Barack Obama asserts that he could have won a third term against Donald Trump if he had run again on his claim of hope and change.

“I am confident in this vision because I’m confident that if I had run again and articulated it, I think I could’ve mobilized a majority of the American people to rally behind it,” he told his former campaign chief David Axelrod on a CNN podcast interview.

Obama blamed Republican leader Sen. Mitch McConnell for doing everything possible to obstruct his presidency, and blaming Democrats for it.

“[J]ust from a pure tactical perspective, was pretty smart and well executed, the degree of discipline that he was able to impose on his caucus was impressive,” Obama said, referring to McConnell.

Obama blamed the media for holding Hillary Clinton to a double standard, insisting that she “performed wonderfully” despite her loss. But he suggested that she did make a mistake for focusing more on Trump than her own economic message.

“Understandably, I think she looked and said well, given my opponent and the things he’s saying and what he’s doing, we should focus on that,” he said.

Obama also blamed the “filters” like Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, and the National Rifle Association for disrupting his message of hope and change.

“[I]f we’re not actually out there like we are during campaigns, then folks in a lot of these communities, what they’re hearing is Obama wants to take away my guns,” he said. “Obamacare’s about transgender bathrooms and not my job, Obama is disrespecting my culture and is primarily concerned with coastal elites and minorities.”

He concluded that he neglected to properly understand the significance of the conservative media.

“Part of what I’ve struggled with during my presidency and part of what I think I’ll be thinking a lot about after my presidency is how do we work around all these filters?” he asked. “And it becomes more complicated now that you’ve got social media, where people are getting news that reinforces their biases and — and separates people out instead of bringing them together.”