Will Obama Cut Back on 'Lavish Vacations' Due to Sequester Cuts, Furloughs? Hear Jay Carney's Evasive Answer

White House press secretary Jay Carney gestures as he speaks during his daily news briefing at the White House in Washington, Monday, March, 18, 2013. Credit: AP

A local reporter from Colorado on Monday asked White House Press Secretary Jay Carney how President Barack Obama justifies "lavish vacations" and golf trips when sequester cuts will supposedly result in furloughed federal workers and the unemployment rate remains high.

The reporter cited the high unemployment rate among minority communities, the "millions of Americans unemployed" and the government furloughs that the White House says are on the way due to the sequester.

"How does the president justify lavish vacations and a golf trip to Florida at taxpayer expense? And does he plan to cut back on his travels?" the reporter asked.

Evading the question, Carney replied: "I can tell you that this president is focused every day on policies that create economic growth and help advance job creation."

"We have presided over the past three years over an economy that has produced over 6.3 million private sector jobs," he added. "And we have more work to do."

"But it's not working minority communities," the reporter interrupted.

Carney went on to say that the unemployment rate "has come down" but not enough. To be sure, when President Obama came into office in 2008, the unemployment rate was 7.8 percent when Bush left office and he was inaugurated. In February 2013, the unemployment rate 7.7 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Watch Carney's full comments via C-SPAN below, here.

Featured image via AP

(H/T: Weekly Standard)