President Obama is sticking to his remarks that Republicans opponents of the Iran deal are making common cause with Iranian hardliners who yell “Death to America.”
“What I said is absolutely true, factually,” Obama told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria in an interview that will air in full on Sunday.
“The truth of the matter is, inside of Iran, the people most opposed to the deal are the Revolutionary Guard, the Quds Force, hardliners who are implacably opposed to any cooperation with the international community,” Obama said.
The comparison has sparked a firestorm among the GOP – as well as some Democratic critics of the deal – who argue that the president is trying to stifle debate by resorting to name-calling.
The timing of the remarks, published just hours after Sen. Chuck Schumer came out in strong opposition the deal, in a major blow to the White House, is particularly awkward for the administration. The New York Democrat will succeed Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., as the party’s leader in the Senate when Reid retires at the end of his term in 2016.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has called on Obama to retract the comments, but White House press secretary Josh Earnest Thursday said the president has no plans to do so and doubled down on the comparison.
Obama, in the interview with Zakaria, accused McConnell and other Republicans of having more in common with Iranian hardliners who want to maintain the status quo.
“The reason that Mitch McConnell and the rest of the folks in his caucus who opposed this jumped out and opposed this before they even read it, before it was even posted, is reflective of a ideological commitment not to get a deal done,” Obama said. “In that sense they do have much more in common with the hardliners who are much more satisfied with the status quo.”
