In an exit interview on The Axe Files, President Obama said that he certainly could’ve been re-elected if he sought a third term for 2016.
Speaking with his former senior adviser David Axelrod, the president asserted that America still believes in a progressive vision, and that he could’ve gotten a majority if the Constitution would’ve allowed him to run again.
“I know that in conversations that I’ve had with people around the country, even some people who disagreed with me, they would say, ‘The vision, the direction that you point towards is the right one,” Obama said.
Obama did take the opportunity to smack his detractors however, stating that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell acted “very cynically” towards him throughout his term. Obama also took another shot at Fox News, saying that McConnell worked with former network chief Roger Ailes and other Republicans to mobilize “a backlash to this vision.”
“His insight was that we just have to say ‘no’ to that…then that will puncture the balloon, that all this talk about ‘hope and change’ and no red state and blue state is — is proven to be a mirage, a fantasy. And if we can — if we can puncture that vision, then we have a chance to win back seats in the House and win back seats in the Senate…
In the wake of the election and Trump winning, a lot of people have suggested that somehow, [my vision] really was a fantasy. What I would argue is, is that the culture actually did shift, that the majority does buy into the notion of a one America that is tolerant and diverse and open and full of energy and dynamism.”
Obama went on to say that Hillary Clinton‘s campaign failed to reach enough Americans who continue to struggle despite economic recovery in certain sectors. He also said Clinton “performed wonderfully under really tough circumstances,” and that she faced a “double standard” from the media.
Listen to the podcast below.