Has Obama Prepared for Life with a Republican Senate? ‘Not Really’
With two weeks to go until the midterm elections and most political prognosticators predicting a Republican victory in the Senate, CNN’s Jim Acosta asked White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest Tuesday whether President Barack Obama has given much thought to what “life will be like” under a Republican-led Senate.
“Uh, not really,” Earnest answered.
Earnest went on to stress that President Obama has been putting his focus over the last couple of years into supporting Democratic candidates through fundraisers and sharing his own campaign resources. He said that the White House continues to be “confident” about the outcome of the midterm elections. Asked if he sees the midterms as a “lost cause” for Democrats, Earnest said, “Absolutely not.”
Acosta also confronted Earnest about comments Obama made to Al Sharpton during a radio interview Monday about Democrats running for Senate in red states that he lost in 2012. “These are all folks who vote with me, they have supported my agenda in Congress,” the president said in response to those candidates who have tried to distance themselves from him.
After Acosta cited various issues on which those candidates disagree with Obama and asked whether his comments were “unhelpful” to their campaigns, Earnest replied, “I think the president was simply making the observation that he is strongly supportive of candidates that are strongly supportive of policies that benefit middle class families.”
“It doesn’t mean they are going to agree on everything,” Earnest added, “but it does mean the president wants members of Congress that have their priorities straight.”
Watch video below, via The White House (relevant portion begins at about 49:00):
[Photo via screengrab]
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