Obama acknowledges partisan divide widened in his presidency

U.S. President Barack Obama acknowledged on Thursday partisan divide was widened during his term, but dismissed his critics' claim that he was responsible for the rise of Donald Trump, the provocative front-runner of the Republican field.

"One of my regrets is the degree to which polarization and the nasty tone of our politics has accelerated rather than waned over the course of the last seven-and-a-half years, and I do all kinds of soul searching," said Obama here during his joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

However, Obama said he would not validate his critics' notion that the "Republican crack-up" was a consequence of actions he had taken.

"It's fair to say that the Republican political elites and many of the information outlets -- social media, news outlets, talk radio, television stations -- have been feeding the Republican base for the last seven years a notion that everything I do is to be opposed, that cooperation or compromise somehow is a betrayal," said Obama.

Meanwhile, Obama indicated on Thursday that he may not endorse any Democratic presidential candidates during the nomination process.

"I think that the Democratic voters are doing just fine working this out," said Obama. Endit