Just before heading off to Hawaii for a 17-day vacation, President Obama gave a year-end press conference during which his well-known ambivalence toward Politico made an appearance.
After touting what he sees as his administration’s achievements, Obama called on a reporter from the D.C.-based publication to ask a question. At the end of his answer, he noted that the reporter, Carrie Budoff Brown, is heading to Europe to work on Politico’s expansion to that continent.
“Where you going to be?” Obama asked.
“Brussels,” Budoff Brown replied.
“Well, congratulations. I have no doubt that what Belgium needs is a version of Politico,” Obama said wryly to laughter from the press.
The Obama team’s frustration with Politico goes back to when the publication was first started in 2007. Coincidentally, that was when Obama began his first successful bid for the White House.
When it started, Politico was, and mostly remains, a publication for political junkies to stay abreast of every move in Washington.
David Plouffe, then Obama’s campaign manager, expressed his distaste for Politico when its first issue was printed. “This is going to be a problem,” he said, according to the New York Times.
