washington<u+2014>president barack obama on tuesday called donald trump <u+2019>s complaints about a rigged election and favorable comments about russian president vladimir putin unprecedented, urging the republican presidential nominee to <u+201c>stop whining<u+201d> and make his case to voters. in his latest critique of mr. trump, the president said <u+201c>no serious person<u+201d> would suggest that u.s. elections were fixed. mr. obama, a democrat, also took aim at the new york businessman and his republican allies for their entreaties to mr. putin, saying that russia<u+2019>s behavior has undermined international norms. during a white house news conference with italian prime minister matteo renzi, the president initially said he would be more subdued than on the campaign trail when answering questions about mr. trump. he then proceeded to aggressively criticize the gop nominee<u+2019>s complaints about anticipated election fraud. <u+201c>i have never seen in my lifetime or in modern political history any presidential candidate trying to discredit the elections and the election process before votes have even taken place,<u+201d> mr. obama said. <u+201c>it happens to be based on no facts.<u+201d> in recent days, mr. trump has escalated his claims that the election will be rigged, which has unsettled officials from both political parties . the candidate has presented no evidence of fraudulent activity. mr. trump on tuesday maintained that the election could be rigged in favor of democratic nominee hillary clinton. at a rally in colorado, he sought to shift responsibility for his potential loss onto the electoral process and the media, and to convince his supporters that he is doing better against mrs. clinton than polls currently show. <u+201c>the press has created a rigged system and poisoned the minds of many of our voters,<u+201d> mr. trump said. <u+201c>this is an election about truth and you won<u+2019>t get it from the dishonest media.<u+201d> he said voter fraud in places such as philadelphia, chicago and st. louis could swing the election, specifically citing the potential for non-u. s. citizens to illegally cast ballots. <u+201c>i don<u+2019>t believe the polls anymore,<u+201d> mr. trump said. <u+201c>believe me folks we<u+2019>re doing great.<u+201d> mr. obama, in his remarks, said election experts from both parties agree that instances of significant voter fraud don<u+2019>t exist. he pointed to the decentralized nature of u.s. elections, where states and localities count ballots, and the fact that republican local and state officials would be overseeing voting in many states. the president questioned whether mr. trump had the leadership skills and toughness needed in a commander in chief. <u+201c>you start whining before the game<u+2019>s even over?<u+201d> mr. obama said. <u+201c>you don<u+2019>t have what it takes to be in this job because there are a lot of times when things don<u+2019>t go our way, or my way.<u+201d> he added: <u+201c>i<u+2019>d invite mr. trump to stop whining and go try to make his case to get votes.<u+201d> mr. trump, behind in the polls and facing allegations of sexual misconduct, in recent days has doubled down on claims of a fixed election. he has denied the allegations. <u+201c>of course there is large scale voter fraud happening on and before election day,<u+201d> mr. trump tweeted on monday. <u+201c>why do republican leaders deny what is going on? so naive!<u+201d> mr. obama also expressed frustration with mr. trump<u+2019>s recent suggestion that he would like to meet with mr. putin, and the president defended his own efforts to cooperate with the russian president. <u+201d>any characterization that somehow we have improperly challenged russian aggression or have somehow tried to encroach on their legitimate interests is just wrong,<u+201d> mr. obama said. in a monday radio interview, mr. trump said that if elected, he might sit down with mr. putin before being sworn in. the new york businessman criticized mrs. clinton for <u+201c>talking too tough<u+201d> about russia, asserting that mr. obama and other u.s. leaders insult mr. putin constantly. mr. obama<u+2014>after saying he would be more subdued in his critique of the gop nominee<u+2014>aggressively questioned mr. trump<u+2019>s posture toward russia and lashed out at other republicans who are standing with the new york businessman. <u+201c>mr. trump<u+2019>s continued flattery of mr. putin, and the degree to which he appears to model many of his policies and approaches to politics on mr. putin, is unprecedented,<u+201d> mr. obama said, adding he believes the remarks also are <u+201c>out of step with<u+201d> with both democratic and republican views on russia. mr. trump has described u.s.-russia relations as a <u+201c>really catastrophic situation,<u+201d> blaming the president and mrs. clinton. he has drawn criticism for praising mr. putin and for suggesting that the russian president is a stronger leader than mr. obama. <u+2014>felicia schwartz and carol e. lee contributed to this article. write to colleen mccain nelson at colleen.nelson@wsj.com and byron tau at byron.tau@wsj.com
obama says donald trump should <u+2018>stop whining<u+2019> over claims of rigged election  - wsj
colleen mccain nelson byron tau