SLIGHTLY VEILED HIGH-LEVEL ATTACKS ON DONALD TRUMP --- First, by President Obama in his "State of the Union Address" for 2016 -- AND -- Then, by Nikki Haley during her "GOP Response"

CALL IT “PRESIDENTIAL”  ATTENTION  ---  Trump’s stature can only grow with all of this free PR at the highest level of news-making   --  The annual constitutionally-mandated statement by the POTUS, plus the traditional response by the national “Opposition Party” spokesperson

Donald Trump is now undeniably THE PRIME ANTI-ESTABLISHMENT CANDIDATE running in the GOP primaries   ---   even though Obama also had some barbs for Ted Cruz too 

According to the folks at Newsmax, without mentioning him by name, President Barack Obama was directly referring to GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump during his 2016 State of the Union Speech.  Here’s what Newsmax said about that:  “….  ‘It’s easier to be cynical,’ he said. ‘But if we give up now, then we forsake a better future. Those with money and power will gain greater control over the decisions that could send a young soldier to war, or allow another economic disaster, or roll back the equal rights and voting rights that generations of Americans have fought, even died, to secure.’…     ‘Anyone claiming that America’s economy is in decline is peddling fiction,’ he said, in what appeared to be a rebuttal of claims by the Republican presidential front-runner, Donald Trump, whose campaign slogan is “make America great again.” …  ‘The United States of America is the most powerful nation on Earth. Period. It’s not even close,’ Obama said, repeating the sentence.”  (See “Obama Targets Trump in SOTU” by Bloomberg News Staff, 1/12/16, Newsmax/ Headline  [http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/obama-state-union-speech/2016/01/12/id/709222/]).

Here's another passage that clearly is aimed at Trump and that says it all:

".... 'We need to reject any politics that targets people because of race or religion.... This isn’t a matter of political correctness. It’s a matter of understanding what makes us strong. The world respects us not just for our arsenal; it respects us for our diversity and our openness and the way we respect every faith. His Holiness, Pope Francis, told this body from the very spot I stand tonight that ‘to imitate the hatred and violence of tyrants and murderers is the best way to take their place.’ When politicians insult Muslims, whether abroad or our fellow citizens, when a mosque is vandalized, or a kid is called names, that doesn’t make us safer. That’s not telling it like it is. It’s just wrong. It diminishes us in the eyes of the world. It makes it harder to achieve our goals. And it betrays who we are as a country....”  (See “Obama slaps Trump in final State of the Union” by Chelsea Schilling, 1/12/16, WND/ Front Page  [http://www.wnd.com/2016/01/obama-slaps-trump-in-final-state-of-the-union/#PmKcqYrVfUYUpH2e.99]). 

The WND account also made note of this: “In another apparent slap at Trump, Obama stated, ‘Our public life withers when only the most extreme voices get attention.’…”

This is how the Newsmax/Bloomberg report handled the President’s remarks that obviously referred to Senator Ted Cruz, another GOP outsider running for President in 2016:  “….  ‘They do not threaten our national existence,’ he said. He again appeared to rebuke a Republican presidential candidate, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who has called for ‘carpet-bombing’ against Islamic State….  When the world comes to the United States for leadership in global crises, ‘our answer needs to be more than tough talk or calls to carpet bomb civilians,’ Obama said. ‘That may work as a TV sound bite, but it doesn’t pass muster on the world stage.’…”

THE SO-CALLED “REPUBLICAN” RESPONSE

According to other observers, the GOP spokesperson, giving the opposition party response to the President’s speech also took some time to take a few whacks at Donald Trump.  Here’s the "Daily Mail" headline:  “Republican Nikki Haley warns against the 'angriest' and 'loudest' voices during GOP response in a veiled swipe at Donald Trump”;  here’s  also one of their sub-headlines:  “….  Haley spoke out against angry voices in politics and then segued to make a point about immigration, suggesting that she was jabbing Donald Trump.….” ;

And here’s the Daily Mail's text on the same material: “Sure, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley whacked President Obama's record during her GOP response, but she hinted that those screaming the loudest in the Republican primary deserve some finger-wagging too….  ‘During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices. We must resist that temptation,' she warned at one point….  At another, she said that you don't have to be the 'loudest voice in the room' to make a difference, as she gave her party's official response to Obama's State of the Union address, which he delivered directly before….   Haley's first jab, which seemed to be aimed straight at GOP frontrunner Donald Trump, came as she discussed immigration, the billionaire's signature issue….  'No one who is willing to work hard, abide by our laws, and love our traditions should ever feel unwelcome in this country,' Haley stated….”  ( See “Republican Nikki Haley warns against the 'angriest' and 'loudest' voices during GOP response in a veiled swipe at Donald Trump” By Nikki Schwab, 1/12/16 [updated 1/13/16],  Daily Mail/ News [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3396797/Republican-Nikki-Haley-warns-against-angriest-loudest-voices-GOP-response-veiled-swipe-Donald-Trump.html]).

NEGATIVE COMPARISON WITH SOUTH CAROLINA CHURCH SHOOTER “DYLAN ROOF” ???

It's even possible that Nikki Haley tried to compare Donald Trump unfavorably to herself and her home state’s response to the shootings by the right-wing nut Dylan Roof.  First, Nikki Haley mentioned Roof, the shooter this way:  '….  He didn't look like them, didn't act like them, didn't sound like them. They didn't throw him out. They didn't call the police. Instead, they pulled up a chair and prayed with him. For an hour'.…”   Haley, then, pointed to the shooting's aftermath and talked about God…   'We didn't turn against each other's race or religion,' she said. 'We turned toward God, and to the values that have long made our country the freest and greatest in the world.'…”