As Republicans campaigning to replace him prepared for their final debate before the Iowa caucuses, President Barack Obama painted the 2016 GOP field as divided, and confidently predicted Democrats would hold the White House in 2016.
“We’re not going to build progress with a bunch of phony tough talk and bluster and over-the-top claims, that just play into ISIL’s hands,” Obama said, in his final speech to the annual House Democratic Caucus retreat, using a different term for ISIS.
In a reference to the GOP frontrunner Donald Trump, the President said, “We’re not going to strengthen our leadership around the world by allowing politicians to insult Muslims or pit groups of Americans against each other. That’s not who we are. That’s not keeping America safe.”
The President sidestepped the contentious battle between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for the Democratic presidential nomination, and instead piled on the divisions among Republicans.
“Obviously it is election season and the press has been focused on debates and divisions they can drum up within the primary and within our party,” he said. “And I’m not worried about this party staying united.”
He acknowledged the intense focus on the 2016 campaign, adding, “the other side may have some stuff to work out. But our trajectory is clear. And everyone’s scouring my every word to find some deeper meaning, see if I’m trying to put my finger on the scales. So let me simplify things. Tonight I have an announcement to make about the presidential race. Democrats will win in November and we will have a Democratic president succeeding me.”
House Democrats, who lost their majority in 2010 after a midterm election that was largely a referendum on Obamacare, haven’t always enjoyed a close relationship with the President. But before he started his speech there was a smattering of chants across the hotel ballroom of Obama’s signature 2008 campaign slogan — “Fired Up! “Ready to go!”
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi presented Obama with a book commemorating the Iran nuclear deal — one his most significant foreign policy achievements, and one that was almost universally condemned by congressional Republicans.
The President touted his administration’s handling of the economy, and its national security policies, and took issue with the rhetoric from the GOP that portrays the nation as falling apart.
“In this election season there is a lot of noise and a lot of talk about America in decline, and as I said at the State of the Union: I don’t believe it, and the facts don’t show it. We’re doing a lot better than we were seven, eight years ago, but we’ve got a long way to go.”