US President Barack Obama has mocked the Republican leadership for being "shocked" over the campaign narrative of its frontrunner Donald Trump as he blamed it for creating the environment that led to the controversial leader's rise.
"We've got a debate inside the other party that is fantasy and schoolyard taunts and selling stuff like it's the Home Shopping Network," Obama said during a public meeting in Austin, Texas referring to the election campaign and rhetoric of the Republican presidential candidates. "Then you've got the Republican establishment - they're very exercised: We're shocked that somebody would be saying these things. We're shocked that somebody is fanning anti- immigrant sentiment or anti-Muslim sentiment. "We're shocked! We're shocked that somebody could be loose with the facts. Or distort someone's record -- shocked!" Obama said, referring to the campaign narrative of Trump, amidst laughter and applause from the audience.
"How can you be shocked?" asked Obama. "This is the guy, remember, who was sure that I was born in Kenya. Who just wouldn't let it go," he said amidst laughter.