Obama thirsty for a taste of Donald Trump’s wine

DALLAS — President Barack Obama is thirsty … for a taste of Donald Trump’s wine.

“Has anybody bought that wine? I want to know what that wine tastes like,” a laughing Obama said at a Democratic Party fund-raiser Saturday. “I mean, come on. You know that’s like some $5 wine. They slap a label on it. They charge you $50 and say it’s the greatest wine ever.”

“Come on,” Obama said, still laughing. “Oh, boy. Selling wine. That’s not what we’re for. Couldn’t make it up.”

Obama’s larger point was that his Republican opponents have resorted to selling wine because they’re out of ideas. But just one of the remaining GOP presidential candidates is a salesman who sells wine and other edible items: Trump.

After winning presidential primaries this past Tuesday in Michigan and Mississippi, the billionaire businessman held a celebratory news conference at his golf course in Jupiter, Florida. Various Trump-branded products, including bottles of red, white and rose wine, bottled water and butcher blocks with stacks of well-marbled “Trump Steaks” were arranged on either side of the podium.

The display was Trump’s visual response to a scathing critique of him recently delivered by Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee. Romney sought in a speech to undermine Trump’s political success by outlining what he said were the billionaire’s business failures.

Obama joined the bandwagon, at least while in Texas.

The president ridiculed Trump’s products, though without naming the Republican, during two days of fundraising in the Republican state. After highlighting some of his own record Friday for a crowd of cheering supporters in Austin, Texas, Obama started in on Trump’s steaks.

“Imagine what Trump would say if he actually had a record like this. Instead of selling steaks,” Obama said. “Has anybody tried that wine? How good can that wine be?”

Obama faulted the GOP presidential candidates for “tripping all over themselves” to talk down an economy he says is the “bright spot” of the world.

“America is pretty darn great right now,” he said, riffing on Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan. Obama said the focus of the race to succeed him after two terms in office should be on “how we can do even better, build on the progress we’ve made, not reverse it.”

“Instead, we’ve got a debate inside the other party that is fantasy and schoolyard taunts and selling stuff like it’s the Home Shopping Network,” he said.

___