US President Barack Obama made fun of his Republican rivals at a Democratic fundraiser on New Yorks Broadway on 2 November, telling his audience that they occupy a different reality.

Obama defended his legacy and poked fun at the Republicans positions on everything from the economy, to climate change and foreign policy. Speaking to a packed crowd at the Richard Rogers Theater after a special performance of the hit musical Hamilton, the US president mocked the Republicans for attacking his record.

They occupy a different reality, it seems. According to them everything was really good in 2008, when we were going through the worst economic crisis in our lifetimes, unemployment and uninsured rates were up and we were hopelessly addicted to foreign oil and Bin Laden was still on the loose - this apparently was the golden age that I messed up. I messed it up. And Obamacare and immigrants and taxes and deficits all just messed everything up, he said.

Obama made fun of what he says is the position of many of the leading Republicans on climate change. He said: On climate change; now if you went to a doctor. No, lets change that. You go to a hundred doctors and 99 of them tell you, Youve got diabetes. Youve got to stop eating bacon and doughnuts every day. And we have to monitor your health we got to fix this. You wouldnt say, oh, thats a conspiracy, theyre making that up. All 99 of those doctors got together with Obama to try to prevent me from having bacon and doughnuts. You wouldnt do that.

Both Donald Trump and Ben Carson, the two Republican presidential candidates leading in the polls, have made statements implying that they do not accept that climate change is real.

Obama also poked fun at the Republican presidential candidates for promising they could stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin when they could not handle the moderators from the debate at the end of October on cable network CNBC. Have you noticed that every one of these candidates say Obamas weak, Putins kicking sand in his face. When I talk to Putin hes going to straighten out. Just lookin at him, Im going to, hes going to be... And then it turns out they cant handle a bunch of CNBC moderators at a debate, he said.

Republican candidates have criticised the journalists who moderated the well-watched debate for what they said was a failure to ask relevant questions.