(POLITICO) President Barack Obama on Thursday disavowed any responsibility for the rise of Donald Trump.
While acknowledging that he would own his responsibility as president to bridge divides between the American people as its chief executive, Obama rejected the notion that his efforts over the course of the last seven years have led to Trump's march toward the GOP nomination.
“But what I’m not going to do is validate some notion that the Republican crackup that’s been taking place is a consequence of actions that I’ve taken," Obama said during a joint news conference in the Rose Garden with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Advertisement - story continues below