Obama: 'strange things' happen when voters are scared

(AP) — President Barack Obama said Thursday that "strange things" can happen in politics when voters are scared and that the angst people are feeling across the country is finding voice in both the Republican and Democratic parties.

Obama commented two days after billionaire businessman Donald Trump rode that wave of voter anger at traditional politicians to a commanding win in New Hampshire's Republican presidential primary.

Obama said people remember the dire economic straits the country faced at the dawn of his presidency, when the economy was shedding hundreds of thousands of jobs per month and people were losing their homes and retirement savings.

Because when people are scared, then strange things can happen in politics.

Obama's comments were aimed at ensuring Democrats don't take anything for granted this fall, White House spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters on Air Force One after the fundraiser.