President Barack Obama waded into the 2016 Republican presidential contest on Tuesday, suggesting that Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, might want to “bone up” on foreign policy before criticizing the administration’s tentative nuclear deal with Iran.
The likely presidential contender has said that if he were elected he would pull out of the deal the administration announced last week, even if U.S. allies wanted to keep it going.
Obama, who has largely resisted questions about the race to replace him in the White House, in an interview with NPR said he was “confident that any president who gets elected will be knowledgeable enough about foreign policy and knowledgeable enough about the traditions and precedents of presidential power that they won't start calling into question the capacity of the Executive Branch of the United States to enter into agreements with other countries.”
He added, “if that starts being questioned, that's going to be a problem for our friends and that's going to embolden our enemies. And it would be a foolish approach to take, and, you know, perhaps Mr. Walker, after he's taken some time to bone up on foreign policy, will feel the same way.”
Walker took issue with Obama’s remarks, charging that his “failed leadership has put him at odds with many across the country, including members of his own party, and key allies around the world.
“Americans would be better served by a president who spent more time working with governors and members of Congress rather than attacking them,” Walker said in a statement released by his political organization, Our American Revival. “Whether it is cutting a bad deal with Iran, calling ISIS the JV squad, or touting Yemen as a success story, Obama’s lack of leadership has hurt America’s safety and standing in the world.”