President Barack Obama AP FILE PHOTO
WASHINGTON鈥擝arack Obama warned Tuesday that the 2016 race for the White House is damaging America鈥檚 image abroad, sounding the alarm on harsh campaign talk that risks eroding gains seen during his presidency.
Lashing out at 鈥渧ulgar and divisive rhetoric鈥� in the race to replace him, Obama told a bipartisan group of lawmakers 鈥渢his is also about the American brand.鈥�
鈥淭he world pays attention to what we say and what we do,鈥� Obama said in an early Saint Patrick鈥檚 Day address, flanked by the Irish prime minister. 鈥淲hy would we want to see that brand tarnished?鈥�
READ: Obama rebukes Trump for campaign rhetoric
It is the latest intervention from Obama over the tenor of the White House race and the populist message of its Republican frontrunner Donald Trump.
As the controversial businessman has ascended toward the Republican presidential nomination, concern has risen in the White House about the impact of his outbursts.
Trump is expected to take a step closer to becoming the party鈥檚 White House candidate Tuesday, when states from Florida to Ohio hold primary votes.
Improving America鈥檚 image abroad has been a major boon for Obama鈥檚 presidency, allowing him to speak more forcefully in places from Indonesia to Ghana.
鈥淲e鈥檝e seen a big change in the way the world sees the United States under Obama,鈥� Richard Wike, director of global attitudes research at Pew Research Center, told Agence France-Presse.
鈥淥verall attitudes across the globe towards the US are a lot more positive today than they were during the George W. Bush era,鈥� he said, while noting the trend is not universal.
Obama鈥檚 efforts may now be at risk.
鈥淧eople in other countries closely follow and have a pretty sophisticated understanding of American politics,鈥� said White House press secretary Josh Earnest.
鈥淪o people around the world are watching. The tone and tenor of that debate does have an impact on the way that people around the world see the United States.鈥�
In private meetings, foreign diplomats in Washington frequently ask US government officials and observers about Trump鈥檚 rise.
Trump鈥檚 promise to build a wall on the Mexican border and 鈥渕ake鈥� Mexico pay for it has already elicited angry responses.
READ: Obama says Trump鈥檚 deportation plan is unrealistic
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto compared that rhetoric to Hitler and Mussolini.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, on his first visit to Washington since taking up the post, also voiced disquiet on the debate over migrants.
鈥淭his is a very important part of US leadership in the world,鈥� he told reporters Tuesday. 鈥淪o, since every candidate is talking about US leadership, this is part of it.鈥�
Dan Restrepo, who for six years was Obama鈥檚 top advisor on Latin America, said that 鈥渁 president Trump would obviously have profoundly negative implications for relationships in the Americas.鈥�
But he said that if Trump鈥檚 ideas are rejected, 鈥渁t that point the vitality of the democratic institutions in the United States will have been reaffirmed, and that could be beneficial.鈥�