Obama Assails 'Vulgar' 2016 Campaign as McConnell Cautions Trump
- Campaign has become `race to the bottom,' president says
- McConnell suggests Trump should discourage violence at rallies
President Barack Obama addresses the Chief of Missions conference at the State Department in Washington on March 14, 2016.
Photographer: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
President Barack Obama called the 2016 campaign a “race to the bottom,” while Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday he suggested to Republican front-runner Donald Trump that he discourage violence at his campaign rallies.
With Trump seeking a knockout victory in Tuesday’s five-state primaries, both Obama and establishment Republicans are trying to calibrate their messages to an unpredictable candidate whose obstreperous rhetoric and rallies may be propelling him toward the Republican nomination.