title:  Obama Absolutely RIPS The GOP’s ‘Vulgar And Divisive’ Campaign (VIDEO)
text: President Barack Obama took some time on Tuesday to call for more civility from the Republican candidates while they re on the campaign trail, as the bid for the White House becomes increasingly violent and coarse.Noting the increasing violence and racist language, Obama scolded the candidates for setting a bad example for children and making a mockery of America s reputation to the rest of the world. Speaking to his audience at a St. Patrick s Day luncheon on Capitol Hill, Obama slammed the GOP s  vulgar and divisive  campaign, making a noticeable jab at GOP front runner Donald Trump s routinely violent rallies and hateful rhetoric toward women and minorities. The president said: We have heard vulgar and divisive rhetoric aimed at women and minorities, at Americans who don t look like us or pray like us or vote like we do. We ve seen misguided attempts to shut down that speech. However offensive it may be, we live in a country where free speech is one of the most important rights we hold. In response to those attempts, we ve seen actual violence. And we ve heard silence from too many of our leaders.Too often, we ve accepted this as somehow the new normal. And it s worth asking ourselves what each of us may have done to contribute to this kind of vicious atmosphere in our politics. Obama said the current presidential race wasn t an accurate depiction of America, and it has to stop. You can watch part of Obama s powerful speech below, which earned him a standing ovation from lawmakers in both parties:Obama later urged politicians to think of America s youth and renounce the violence, stating that We should not have to explain to them this darker side  in America s politics: In America, there is no law that says we have to be nice to each other, or courteous, or treat each other with respect. But there are norms. There are customs. There are values that our parents taught us and that we try to teach to our children to try to treat others the way we want to be treated. At one point during the luncheon, Obama faced House Speaker Paul Ryan and said that the two men should be able to treat each other with respect despite their different views on policy. Obama said, as Ryan nodded back, I don t have a bad thing to say about you as a man. I know you want what s best for America. Obama s powerful message to the GOP candidates comes just as front runner Donald Trump is denying the worsening violence that has plagued his rallies by calling his campaign events  love fests . Trump is also now lying about the fact that he has encouraged more violence by telling his supporters he will pay for any legal fees they might be faced with from attacking protesters. Featured image via Ben Thomas / Flickr