A routine fundraising trip to Rhode Island turned into a political minefield for President Obama on Monday when the state’s Democratic gubernatorial nominee told the president to “shove it.”
Frank Caprio’s remarks to a local radio station came hours before Air Force One touched down in Warwick, R.I., and after the Providence Journal reported Obama wouldn’t be endorsing Caprio.
“He can take his endorsement and really shove it,” Caprio told WPRO radio in Providence.
Obama had decided to stay out of the race because his friend, former Sen. Lincoln Chafee, is running as an independent for governor. Chafee, formerly a Republican, endorsed Obama in 2008.
“Out of respect for his friend, Lincoln Chafee, the president decided not to get involved in this race,” said White House deputy press secretary Bill Burton.
Chafee is leading Caprio in a four-way race that also includes Republican John Robitaille and Moderate Party candidate Ken Block.
A Rasmussen Reports poll last week found Chafee with 35 percent of the vote, Caprio with 28 percent and Robitaille with 25 percent. Block had 6 percent, the poll showed.
Robitaille took a dim view of Caprio’s remarks, suggesting his Democratic opponent may be “losing it.”
“You don’t tell the president of the United States to shove it,” Robitaille told WPRO. “He’s either losing it and acting like a petulant little child, or this is a strategic miscalculation of significant proportions.”
The White House, meanwhile, was scrambling to explain how Obama’s non-endorsement of Caprio squares with the administration’s claim the president is doing all he can to elect Democrats this year.
Nathan Daschle, executive director of the Democratic Governors Association, criticized the president’s omission.
“Frank Caprio has spent his career fighting for the values of the Democratic Party,” Daschle said. “He deserves the full support of our party and its leaders.”
Former President Clinton earlier campaigned in the state for Caprio. But Burton indicated the White House was unmoved by criticism from Caprio and other Democrats.
With Election Day approaching, “emotions are running high,” Burton said. But “the president feels comfortable with what he’s doing in this race.”
Still, inaction from the president can still send a powerful message. Caprio appeared poised to make as much as he could from Obama’s snub, and followed up his radio appearance with a defiant press conference.
“This process of endorsements isn’t something I am concerned about right now,” Caprio said, according to WPRO. He also complained about the president using Rhode Island as a source of campaign cash.
Obama’s trip to Rhode Island included a tour of American Cord & Webbing, a small business in Woonsocket, and two private fundraisers for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in Providence.
With one week left before Election Day, the White House is deploying the president to Ohio, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and other must-win states.
“He’s in a fighting mood,” Burton said of Obama. “He’s enthusiastic to get out there and make sure that the American people understand the stakes and the choice that they have before them in this election.”
