On Wednesday at a PBS NewsHour town hall in Elkhart, Indiana, President Obama delivered a word about the importance of voting for someone who outlines a platform, versus “somebody who’s popping off,” no matter which political party you’re a part of.
This statement was made in response to a question asked about the lack of civility in the 2016 debates.
“I do think that the TV culture, the reality culture contributes to this, because what happens – and talk radio culture. What happens is that politicians get the most attention the more outrageous they sound,” said Obama, referencing the prominence of Donald Trump in news media. “And so if you’re civil and quiet and polite, nobody covers you. But if you say something crazy or rude, you’re all over the news.”
Although President Obama didn’t reference the Republican front-runner by name, it was very clear who he was addressing. When asked why, Obama responded, “you know, he seems to do a good job mentioning his own name.”
More importantly, he pressed the issue of voting. “Get out there and vote. But what I would say is that every voter here, Democrat or Republican, if you want more civility, then you vote for folks who are civil and who are making arguments and using logic and presenting evidence.”
Watch a part of the town hall below, and head over to PBS NewsHour on YouTube for more clips from the event:
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