Outgoing President Barack Obama condemned Donald Trump as unsuitable to be commander-in-chief Thursday, after the Republican nominee blasted US military brass and praised Vladimir Putin. "I don't think the guy's qualified to be president of the United States and every time he speaks, that opinion is confirmed," Obama said in unusually caustic language while overseas. Obama is in Laos for a summit with South East Asia leaders and his final trip to east Asia. "I can tell you from the interactions I have had over the last eight or nine days with foreign leaders that this is serious business," Obama said. "You actually have to know what you are talking about and you actually have to have done your homework. When you speak, it should actually reflect thought out policy you can implement." Trump on Wednesday raised eyebrows by saying that Russia's president was "far more" of a leader than Obama. Putin is "very much of a leader," Trump said in a televised interview. "It's a very different system, and I don't happen to like the system. But certainly in that system he's been a leader, far more than our president has been a leader." Trump has made no secret of his admiration for Putin, who last year praised the US businessman as "very outstanding." Putin "has very strong control over a country," Trump said. "It's a very different system, and I don't happen to like the system. But certainly in that system he's been a leader, far more than our president has been a leader." Before Trump spoke, Clinton too was asked about her security smarts, but also faced questions on the sprawling email scandal that continues to overshadow her White House run. The interviewer, NBC's Matt Lauer, asked why it wasn't "disqualifying" for Clinton to have handled government emails on a private server while secretary of state. "It was a mistake to have a personal account. I would certainly not do it again. I make no excuses for it," Clinton responded, stressing she had not improperly handled classified information. Earlier on Wednesday, Trump pledged to increase US military spending — already at levels far higher than any other nation — and to demand a plan to beat Daesh (the so-called IS) if he becomes president. The Republican presidential candidate told supporters he would ask generals to craft a road-map to the Daesh annihilation. Trump also outlined proposals for an active army of around 540,000 troops, an air force of at least 1,200 fighter aircraft, a 36-battalion marine corps and a navy of 350 surface ships and submarines — though he provided no details on how he would persuade Congress to pay for it all. Apart from consulting with top generals, Trump remained vague on how he would defeat Daesh. "Is the plan you've been hiding this whole time asking someone else for their plan?" Lauer asked. Trump said he didn't "want to broadcast to the enemy what my plan is." In a move likely to enrage the brass in the Defense Department, Trump also blasted the current status of America's top officers, saying they had been hamstrung by Obama and Clinton. "The generals have been reduced to rubble," Trump said, before noting he had "faith in certain of the commanders." Trump, who has campaigned on a platform railing against illegal immigration, also said he had no problem with existing US policy of allowing undocumented immigrants to stay in America if they serve in the military. Most national polls show a tight race with Clinton in the lead as the US presidential race enters its home stretch with just nine weeks until the November 8 election. However, Trump is ahead by a wide margin of 19 percentage points among military and veteran voters, according to the latest NBC News/SurveyMonkey Weekly Election Tracking poll. His 55 to 36 percent lead with the group comes despite recent remarks against the parents of a Muslim-American soldier killed in Iraq, members of the so-called Gold Star families who have lost loved ones in military service. Trump also angered many in the military community with mocking remarks against US Senator and former prisoner of war John McCain for being captured in Vietnam.
