Donald Trump. REUTERS/Rainier Ehrhardt Donald Trump said Tuesday that it was a "great compliment" to be criticized by President Barack Obama.

During a campaign event, former South Carolina Republican Party chairman Van Hipp asked Trump to respond to Obama's condemnation of Trump's inflammatory rhetoric earlier in the day.

"This man has done such a bad job, he has set us back so far. For him to say that is a great compliment, to tell you the truth," Trump replied.

Trump also added that Obama was "lucky" the Republican presidential candidate decided against a 2012 bid.

"You're lucky I didn't run last time when Romney ran, because you would've been a one-term president," Trump said, referencing former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R), his party's nominee that year.

At a Tuesday-afternoon press conference, Obama called out the entire Republican presidential field for the candidates' positions on issues like climate change and immigration reform. Obama also stood by his claim that he does not believe that Trump will be the nominee.

"I continue to believe Mr. Trump will not be president. And the reason is because I have a lot of faith in the American people. And I think that they recognize that being president is a serious job," Obama said.

"It's not hosting a talk show or a reality show," he added. "It's not promotion. It's not marketing. It's hard. And a lot of people count on us getting it right. And it's not a matter of pandering and doing whatever will get you in the news on a given day."