Trump Campaign Chair Manafort: 'Obama Should Be Ashamed at What is Going on in the World'

— -- Donald Trump campaign chairman and chief strategist Paul Manafort fired back at President Obama after he said the New York billionaire's comments about Islam are "ultimately helping do ISIL's work."

"He should be ashamed of what's going on in the world," Manafort said of the president. "The world is an unsafe place because of his failed leadership."

Manafort also defended Trump's comments about NATO. Last week in an interview, Trump suggested the United States should withhold military support for NATO countries that do not meet the military spending requirements if they were invaded by Russia.

"He was talking about the members of NATO have a shared responsibility," Manafort told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos, saying the comment "wasn’t a mistake... Mr. Trump is saying it's a two-way obligation everyone needs to carry their own weight."

The comments were met by widespread outcry, including from prominent Republicans like Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan. Some, like conservative writer Bill Kristol, even suggested that there may be ties between the Trump campaign and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Manafort called the charge "absurd... There's no basis to it."

In the days after the Republican convention, Trump has also been under fire for the tone of his big speech there that painted a picture of an America gripped by violent crime, terrorism, and international chaos. But Manafort defended his candidate and argued his message is ultimately one of hope.

"It was actually a very optimistic speech... All too often in the past Washington and special interests and Hillary Clinton as part of that establishment have tried to say, 'Oh, well things are going to get better -- just trust us,'" Manafort said. "After 25 years, the American people have said enough ... and he talked about his solutions."

Ahead of the Democratic National Convention this week, Manafort also tried to turn the tables and argue the Democrats are the divided party. Newly leaked emails from the Democratic National Committee show staffers and leaders disparaging Sen. Bernie Sanders's campaign during the primaries and apparently working against it.

Manafort was quick to pounce on them to try to draw a connection between Sanders' and Trump's campaigns.

"WikiLeaks clearly uncovered what Sanders has been saying and what Donald Trump has been saying, which is that once again the establishment and the special interests picked their candidate, Hillary Clinton," he said. "It was a clearly rigged system. Bernie Sanders never had a chance, and frankly I think you’re going to see some of that resentment boiling over this week in Philadelphia.”