'Stop whining,' Obama tells Trump

President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign rally for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Friday, Oct. 14, 2016, at the Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland, Ohio. (AP Photo/Phil Long)
President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign rally for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Friday, Oct. 14, 2016, at the Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland, Ohio. (AP Photo/Phil Long)

1 P.M. UPDATE:

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Tuesday criticized Donald Trump for sowing suspicion about the integrity of the U.S. election, telling the Republican presidential nominee to "stop whining" and focus on winning votes.

Obama called Trump's intensifying, pre-emptive warnings about voter fraud "unprecedented" in modern politics. The rhetoric is not based on any evidence, Obama said, but is simply aimed at discrediting the election before the first votes are counted.

"You start whining before the game's even over?" Obama said at a news conference. "Then you don't have what it takes to be in this job."

Obama delivered his rebuke at White House, where he hosted Italy's Prime Minister Matteo Renzi for a state visit. The president initially said he would pull his punches when it comes to politics, respecting the official setting. But when he was asked about Trump's rhetoric, he did not hold back.

The president also accused Trump of showering praise and modeling his policies on Russian President Vladimir Putin to a degree that is "unprecedented in American politics."

He said is "surprised and troubled" by Republican lawmakers who he said are echoing their presidential nominee's positions on Russia. Trump has praised Putin as a strong leader and criticized Obama and the Democratic presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, for Washington's deteriorating relationship with Moscow.

In an interview Monday, Trump said Russia "can't stand" either Democrat. Trump promised a closer relationship with Putin, if elected, starting with a possible meeting with Putin before the U.S. inauguration.

The president's remarks come as Trump and his Republican allies are looking for ways to swing momentum their way.

Earlier Tuesday, Republicans seized the latest developments in the Clinton email controversy as an issue that could help Trump make up ground in the final presidential debate Wednesday night.

That followed news that the State Department had asked FBI officials to lower the classification of a sensitive email related to the attack on the U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya. FBI notes released Monday revealed discussion of a "quid pro quo" in trying to get the email reclassified, though it's not clear who first raised the issue and both State and FBI officials deny any bargaining took place.

Obama said Tuesday the version Trump and other Republicans are talking about is "just not true."

Trump called it "one of the great miscarriages of justice" in history.

Read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

EARLIER:

Donald Trump is claiming that if he doesn't win the presidential election, "history will remember 2017 as the year America lost its independence."

Trump unleashed a series of tweets Tuesday suggesting that he will "#DrainTheSwamp" of corrupt Washington.

It comes the day after he discussed his government ethics reform plan, which includes tighter restrictions on former members of Congress and ex-White House officials taking jobs as lobbyists.

Trump has repeatedly called for Americans to reclaim their independence and has linked his candidacy to the "Brexit" vote in which the United Kingdom chose to leave the European Union.

His remarks also come as he doubles down on his unsubstantiated claims that the election will be "rigged."

Read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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