President Barack Obama said Monday that Democrats who are avoiding him while campaigning for the upcoming midterm elections are actually "strong allies" of his.
The president, making the remarks to Al Sharpton, said candidates are merely avoiding appearing in public with him because they need to do so to win.
“So some of the candidates there, ya know, it is difficult for them to have me in the state because the Republicans will use that to try to fan Republican turnout,” Obama said.
[sharequote align="center"]“The bottom line is though, these are all folks who vote with me."[/sharequote]
“The bottom line though is, these are all folks who vote with me,” he added. “They have supported my agenda in Congress. They are on the right side of minimum wage. They are on the right side of fair pay. They are on the right side of rebuilding our infrastructure. They’re on the right side of early childhood education.”
“So, this isn’t about my feelings being hurt," he continued. "These are folks who are strong allies and supporters of me. And I tell them, I said, you know what, you do what you need to win. I will be responsible for making sure that our voters turn out.”
In the past few weeks, at least two candidates have come under fire for declining to say whether or not they previously voted for Obama.
(H/T: BuzzFeed)
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