Obama To 2016 GOPers: ‘Talking Down America’ Isn’t Very Patriotic

President Barack Obama speaks during the quarterly meeting of the Business Roundtable in Washington, DC, USA on september 16, 2015. Photo by Sipa USA
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President Obama criticized the rhetoric of the Republicans campaigning for president in a speech Wednesday to the Business Roundtable in Washington DC. He said there was “nothing patriotic” about “talking down America.”

“Now, you wouldn’t know any of this if you were listening to the folks who are seeking this office that I occupy,” Obama said to laughter. “In the echo chamber that is presidential politics, everything is dark and everything is terrible. They don’t seem to offer many solutions for the disasters that they perceive — but they’re quick to tell you who to blame.”

“I’m here to say that there’s nothing particularly patriotic or American about talking down America, especially when we stand as one of the few sources of economic strength in the world,” Obama continued.

Obama’s comments were mentioned in the daily media briefing with his press secretary, Josh Earnest.

A reporter asked Earnest, given the statements the President had made, “Are you really sure he’s not going to watch the debate tonight? And second, are you sure that a certain one of those candidates isn’t getting under his skin a little bit?”

Earnest had told media Tuesday that Obama would not tune into the scheduled CNN debate among Republicans on Wednesday.

“I’m confident that the President won’t watch the debate tonight. He will be interested to hear what happens, but I don’t think that he’ll watch it in real time,” Earnest said. “The comments from the President apply to a significant number of candidates in the Republican field. And this is part of politics. This is part of a political debate.”

“The President, however, believes that that debate should be rooted in facts,” Earnest said.

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