Boehner: I'm Trying to 'Help' Obama By Criticizing Him

House Speaker John Boehner on Sunday denied he's gotten "tougher" on President Barack Obama -- saying instead his strong words are a way to "help" him.

"The president’s getting some very bad advice from his campaign team," Boehner (R-Ohio) said on CNN's "State of the Union." "He’s diminishing the presidency by picking fake fights, going after straw men every day."

As evidence, Boehner cited the so-called Buffett Rule -- where "even the president admitted it was a gimmick" -- and new talk of student loan interest rates, saying Obama's "picked the student loan fight where there is no fight."

"The president’s bigger than this," he said. "The presidency is important. America has big challenges, big fiscal challenges, and we’ve got big challenges for our economy, and the president ought to be working with Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill to address the big issues that affect the American people.”

Boehner later added, "The president's getting some bad advice. Somebody's got to help him out, so I thought I would."

Watch below, via CNN: