Barack 'they cling to guns' Obama blasts 'divisive' rhetoric

President Obama lamented "vulgar and divisive" rhetoric on Tuesday, March 15, 2016 while discussing the 2016 presidential primary season

The man who once said Americans "cling" to guns and religion is now taking veiled shots at Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump.

President Obama told attendees at a luncheon at the Capitol on Tuesday that "vulgar and divisive" campaign rhetoric hurts America and needs to stop.

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"Too often we’ve accepted this as somehow the new normal. And it's worth asking ourselves what each of us may have done to contribute to this vicious atmosphere in our politics," Obama told foreign dignitaries and lawmakers, the Hill reported. "While some may be more to blame than others for the current climate, all of us are responsible for reversing it. For it is a cycle that is not an accurate reflection of America. And it has to stop."

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Obama failed to mention his own contributions to the societal splintering of the U.S., which includes an April 2008 fundraiser in San Francisco, California, where he said Americans "cling" to guns and religion.

"You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not," Obama said April 13, 2008. "And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

Also missing from the president's speech was any reference to his Oct. 25, 2010, Univision interview, where he likened political opponents to "enemies" who must be "punished."

"If Latinos sit out the election instead of saying, 'We're gonna punish our enemies and we're gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us,' if they don't see that kind of upsurge in voting in this election, then I think it's gonna be harder and that's why I think it’s so important that people focus on voting on November 2," Obama said, the New York Times reported.

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Tuesday's Friends of Ireland luncheon also featured Obama alluding to Trump's charged rhetoric before saying "silence" should not be an option for offended lawmakers.

"We can condone this race to the bottom or accept it as the way things are and sink further, or roundly reject this kind of behavior whether we see it in the other party or, more importantly, when we see it our own party," said Obama. "It starts with us. ... We should not have to explain to [children] this darker side of politics, we should not be afraid to take them to a political rally or let them watch political debates."

Obama may call Trump's rhetoric a "race to the bottom," but polls show the billionaire topping all of his Republican rivals.

A Quinnipiac University poll released Monday showed Trump leading in Florida. He tops home-state Sen. Marco Rubio 46 percent to 22 percent. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz comes in a third-place at 14 percent.

Quinnipiac questioned 615 Florida likely Republican primary voters from March 8 through March 13 before tabulating its results. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.