White House Press Secretary Jay Carney rebutted attacks that President Obama is spending too much time with celebrities. He pointed out that the bulk of the president’s campaign donations come from small donors, in a press briefing on Air Force One Wedneday.
While traveling to California for several fundraising events, Carney responded to a question about whether “spending a lot of time with celebrities and at these glitzy fundraisers” is sending the wrong message. “[T]he difference between President Obama’s support, financial support and his opponent’s is stark, but not in the way that you describe,” Carney said. “The fundamental difference is President Obama has vast numbers of small donors who support his campaign.”
His full response:
I am making this observation as someone who just consumes the news — that the difference between President Obama’s support, financial support and his opponent’s is stark, but not in the way that you describe. The fundamental difference is President Obama has vast numbers of small donors who support his campaign. Again, this is something for the campaign to address. I’m just making this observation because I’ve read it in the newspapers and in the wires.
That is not the case for the Republican nominee. And I think that the fact that the President enjoys that kind of support speaks to what his policy priorities are. He’s out there fighting for the middle class. He’s out there fighting to protect the middle class and help it expand, to create an economic foundation that will allow the middle class to thrive, as opposed to the situation the middle class experienced in the first decade of this century under the previous President where average incomes for the middle class stagnated or declined while average incomes for the wealthiest Americans increased dramatically.
The President is happy to have the support that he has, but the bedrock foundation of his support are the millions and millions of Americans who believe in his vision for this country’s future and believe that he has their backs.
