Obama and Trump
US President Barack Obama has lambasted Donald Trump, saying the Republican presidential nominee has "wacky ideas" that make him unqualified for the White House.

"I don't think the guy's qualified to be president," Obama told reporters Thursday after a summit with Southeast Asian leaders in Vientiane, Laos. "Every time he speaks, that opinion is confirmed."

The US president laid into Trump's "contradictory or ill-informed or outright wacky ideas," and called on Americans to "make the right decision" in November's election.

"I can tell you from the interactions that I've had over the last eight or nine days with foreign leaders that this is serious business," Obama said. "And you actually have to know what you're talking about. And you actually have to have done your homework."

'Putin a better leader than Obama'

On Wednesday, Trump criticized Obama's foreign policy as weak, saying Russian President Vladimir Putin "has been a leader far more than our president has been."

"The man has very strong control over a country," Trump said during a town hall meeting hosted by NBC News.

"I think when he calls me brilliant I'll take the compliment, ok?" the candidate said of Putin.

The real estate mogul also said that he expected to "get along" with Putin if elected president.

The admiration for the Russian president came on the same day Defense Secretary Ashton Carter accused Moscow of spreading global instability.

Trump has come under criticism for his praise of Putin in the past. The campaign of his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, has insisted that Trump should answer questions about his pro-Russia policy stances.