Obama rips Republicans, Trump during speech in Indiana

(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

last updated 2 June 2016

During a speech Wednesday in the manufacturing city of Elkhart, Indiana, President Obama staged what he called an "intervention" for Americans being misled by Republican policies and promises.

"Don't think this agenda is going to help you," he said. "It is not designed to help you." Republicans are pushing forward a message that's "anti-government, anti-immigrant, anti-trade, and let's face it, anti-change," he said, and he was ringing the alarm in Elkhart because "this county votes Republican." Obama also called out Republicans for criticizing regulations imposed on Wall Street. "Have we really forgotten what happened just eight years ago?" he asked. "Why would you do that? Less oversight on Wall Street would only make another crisis more likely."

The president said he was there to debunk "this myth of crazy, liberal government spending," noting that during his tenure the deficit has been lowered. He also said immigration reform is needed, but that deporting 11 million people is "a fantasy" that "wouldn't do anything to help the middle class," and said presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's tax plan "would explode our deficit by more than $10 trillion."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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