Gregory Korte

USA TODAY



"This is not entertainment. This is not a reality show. This is a contest for the presidency of the United States. What that means is that every candidate, every nominee needs to be subject to exacting standards and genuine scrutiny," Obama told reporters in an unscheduled question-and-answer session at the White House on Friday. WASHINGTON — President Obama pleaded with the news media and the American people to take a closer look at Donald Trump's record and positions now that the billionaire real estate mogul and reality television star is the likely Republican nominee for president.

But no sooner did he implore the media to take Trump more seriously than a reporter asked about his response to Trump's tweet about his taco salad.

"I have no thoughts on Mr. Trump's tweets. As a general rule, I don't pay attention to Mr. Trump's tweets. And I think that will be true for, I think, for the next six months," Obama said. And he suggested that he doesn't want to be asked again, or he'll give the same answer: "You could just file that one."

Obama's remarks Friday were a more serious version of a critique he gave last Saturday at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. After a few Trump jokes, Obama told reporters, "I don’t want to spend too much time on The Donald. Following your lead, I want to show some restraint. Because I think we can all agree that from the start, he’s gotten the appropriate amount of coverage befitting the seriousness of his candidacy."

On Friday, Obama said Trump "has a long record that needs to be examined. And I think it’s important for us to take seriously the statements he's made in the past."

He didn't cite any specific Trump comments, but suggested that some of his statements have been tantamount to provoking war and upending relations with allies.

He said reporters and voters should press for details on how Trump's campaign proposals would actually work. And he said he would play a role in that as well, suggesting a role as fact-checker-in-chief during the election campaign.

As nominee, Trump would get classified intelligence briefings

"The one thing that I'm going to really be looking for over the next six months, is that the American people are effectively informed about where candidates stand on the issues," he said.