Donald Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE's positions on immigration are "completely rejected" by the "next generation of Americans," President Obama said in an interview broadcast Sunday.

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He said that while he's optimistic about the presidential election, Democrats should still take Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, seriously.

"I think anytime we hear intolerance, anytime we hear policy measures that are contrary to our values — banning certain classes of people because of who they are and what they look like, what faith they practice — we have to be pretty hard about saying 'no' to that, and I think American will say 'no' to that this time around as well," Obama said in an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria.

He said "anti-immigrant" sentiments have been around since the beginning of the country, but in the long term, immigrants often become assimilated and accepted.

"I don't expect that that's going to change simply because Mr. Trump has gotten a little more attention than usual," he said.