President Obama took aim at Donald Trump and the Republican party at a fundraiser in Austin, Tex., where he described the Republican campaign as ranging from "school yard" taunts to scenes from "the home shopping network." (Video: Reuters)

Donald Trump’s ascendance is nothing if not surprising.

Pundits thought he would flame out early; he has done things that could have ended other campaigns; and his statements are erratic and even sometimes contradictory. Yet, he remains the leading Republican presidential contender.

Many have tried to explain Trump’s rise in the nine months since he entered the race, and now President Obama can be counted among them: He offered up his analysis of Trump and the broader fight for the Republican presidential nomination during a speech Friday afternoon at a Democratic National Committee event at Texas’s Austin Music Hall.