Obama Knocks Warren On Trade: She Is ‘A Politician Like Everybody Else’

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President Obama said that Elizabeth Warren is “absolutely wrong” to claim that the trade deal the U.S. is negotiating with 11 Pacific countries could be used to undermine the financial regulations in the Dodd-Frank bill.

“Think about the logic of that, right?” Obama said during an interview with Yahoo News published on Saturday. “The notion that I had this massive fight with Wall Street to make sure that we don’t repeat what happened in 2007, 2008. And then I sign a provision that would unravel it?”

“I’d have to be pretty stupid,” Obama said.

Obama said that Warren’s claims about how the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) would impact U.S. financial regulations are “pure speculation.”

Warren and Obama have been engaged in a public dispute over the trade deal over the past month. Warren and a few other Democrats claim that the deal will hurt financial regulations and the U.S. economy. They have also accused Obama of hiding the deal from the public.

Obama has repeatedly hit back against Warren’s claims and maintained his support for the TPP.

Yahoo News’ Matt Bai asked Obama whether his debate with Warrren was “personal.”

“The truth of the matter is that Elizabeth is, you know, a politician like everybody else,” Obama responded. “And you know, she’s got a voice that she wants to get out there. I understand that. And on most issues, she and I deeply agree. On this one, though, her arguments don’t stand the test of fact and scrutiny.”

Watch the clip via Yahoo News:

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Notable Replies

  1. Avatar for meri meri says:

    Except Obama, of course.

    Every other politician panders to their base. Obama lets the GOP base decide what he does and doesn’t do.

  2. Aw, poor baby…

    Never did get your glitter-farting unicorn, did you…?

  3. Now, thems fightin’ words…Liz is anything BUT an ordinary politician…She is not corrupt and taking bribes like the gop, and some Democrats…but PBO and I really, really differ on Professor Senator Warren…Did Michelle crank one upside his head last week? what the fudge happened to him? Paying back a debt to his financial backers would be ahhh, unsightly and ugly? And trying to cover his ass with the Good Senator from MA…? Ummm, what is in this deal that is doing this to him?

  4. So let’s have other Congress people chime in since they are the only people who can view it (with restrictions of course). Let’s debate this in Congress, in the open and prove to each other what is really in the bill.

  5. Yeah, she’s a politician, all right. Just like you. Too bad her constituents are distinct from yours when it comes to trade deals, financial institutions, and the like.

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