RNC chair Reince Priebus is raining on President Obama’s 50th birthday fundraiser in Chicago, saying the president is too focused on campaigning.
“I suppose the White House thinks he should stick to the job he really likes, raising money from fat cat donors, while the rest of America struggles with trying to make ends meet,” Priebus said in a call with reporters on Wednesday.
The messenger for the attack was a bit odd given that the RNC’s primary duty is fundraising for Republican campaigns. In Priebus’ case, he campaigned for the job specifically based on his ability to reel in big-money donors that had left during Michael Steele’s tenure. “We will work to regain the confidence of our donor base and I will personally call our major donors to ask them to rejoin our efforts at the RNC,” he wrote in a letter to committee members last year.
Priebus was asked by a reporter on Wednesday’s call why Obama’s fundraising crossed the line.
“I think it’s another case of this president’s rhetoric not matching his deeds,” Priebus replied. “He’s tried all week to try this spin that now the White House is pivoting to jobs, which they’ve tried many times before, and the first job Obama is interested in saving is his own.”
Benjy Sarlin
Benjy Sarlin is a reporter for Talking Points Memo and co-writes the campaign blog, TPM2012. He previously reported for The Daily Beast/Newsweek as their Washington Correspondent and covered local politics for the New York Sun.
Disqus Conversations
Click here to read the Disqus Commenting FAQ.