U.S. President Barack Obama is backpedaling quickly from a political gaffe he made last week when he used the word “enemies” to describe Republicans.
Obama made the comment last week in an interview with Univision radio in which he sought to persuade Hispanics to vote for Democratic candidates instead of Republicans.
“If Latinos sit out the election instead of, ‘we’re going to punish our enemies and we’re going to reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us’– then I think it’s going to be harder,” Obama had said.
“I probably should have used the word ‘opponents’ instead of enemies,” Mr. Obama told black talk radio host Michael Baisden in an interview on Monday.
Republicans who are expected to win control of the House, are using Obama’s words against him during last-minute campaigning for votes.
“Today, sadly, we have president who uses the word ‘enemy’ for fellow Americans … fellow citizens. He uses it for people who disagree with his agenda of bigger government…,” Republican John Boehner planned to say in Cincinnati.
“Mr. President, there’s a word for people who have the audacity to speak up in defense of freedom, the Constitution, and the values of limited government that made our country great. We don’t call them ‘enemies.’ We call them ‘patriots,'” he planned to say.
Obama told Baisden that he was talking about opponents of the immigration overhaul that he’s been promising for two years now. Hispanics are expected to turn their backs on Obama and the Democrats in the midterm elections today.
