US President Barack Obama said on Sunday that American society is uncomfortable with powerful women, and that is why the country has not yet elected a woman President.
Mr Obama, who is eager to see fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton succeed him in office, told a fundraiser for her in New York that the election between his former secretary of state and Republican businessman Donald Trump should not be close.
However, political polarisation in the country would make it tight, he said.
The first African-American President of the United States then told the group of donors why he thought a woman had never held the office.
“There’s a reason why we haven’t had a woman President,” he said.
“We as a society still grapple with what it means to see powerful women. And it still troubles us in a lot of ways, unfairly. And that expresses itself in all sorts of ways.”
Mr Obama has often spoken about the role of strong women in his life, including his mother, grandmother, wife and daughters.
Polls have tightened between Ms Clinton, a former US Senator and first lady, and Mr Trump, a real-estate tycoon.
“This should not be a close election, but it will be,” Mr Obama said. “And the reason it will be is not because of Hillary’s flaws, but rather because, structurally, we’ve become a very polarised society,” he said.
