Donald Trump suddenly changed his opinion of former President Barack Obama, as some polls showed that presumed Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris was improving her position in the 2024 race.
On Tuesday, CNN asked Trump about his view of Obama before the former Democratic president was scheduled to speak at his party's convention in Chicago that night.
"I like him. I think he's a nice gentleman, but he was very, very weak on trade," Trump replied. "If you take a look at what happened to our country trade-wise, it was a disaster. Take a look at Japan, take a look at China, take a look at what happened with some of these countries, what they did."
The Republican presidential nominee added: "But I happen to like him. I respect him, and I respect his wife."
CNN political analyst John King doubted that Trump had truly changed his opinion of Obama after years of racial attacks.
"He has, at some of his rallies, used Barack Obama's middle name, Barack Hussein Obama," King recalled after noting Trump's history of birtherism — questioning if Obama was born in the U.S. and was qualified to be president.
"He types it in all caps. Again, raising questions that Obama's not legitimate, that he's not American, that he shouldn't have been president."
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"What does that tell me?" the CNN analyst added. "It tells me that Donald Trump, who occasionally listens to his political advisors and has very smart political advisors, has been told, guess what, sir, you're losing."
"You're losing because people think you're unhinged. You're losing because not only Black voters, but people in the suburbs don't like your tone."
