Obama Speaks out About Elizabeth Warren's Criticism of Trade-Pact
President Barack Obama spoke out about Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren's criticism on his free-trade pact with 12 Asian countries.
"She's absolutely wrong," Obama told Yahoo! News.
"Think about the logic of that, right?" he asked. "The notion that I had this massive fight with Wall Street to make sure that we don't repeat what happened in 2007, 2008. And then I sign a provision that would unravel it?
"I'd have to be pretty stupid," Obama added. "This is pure speculation. She and I both taught law school, and you know, one of the things you do as a law professor is you spin out hypotheticals. And this is all hypothetical, speculative."
Obama visited the world headquarters of Nike on Friday to discuss his free trade deal that he vows would help American workers, USA Today reports.
"Passing trade agreements is part of that agenda -- if those trade agreements are the right kinds of trade agreements," he said, referring to his efforts to pass universal health care, raise minimum wage and to combat global warming.
"If you're a country that wants into this agreement, you have to meet higher standards. If you don't, you're out," he said.
Yet, members of the Democratic Party oppose Obama's free trade idea.
"I've run my last election," the president said. "The only reason I'm doing something is because I think it's best for American workers and the American economy."
Some people criticize the president for making a free trade announcement at the Nike headquarters where people from poor Asian countries make their shoes for less than 60 cents an hour.
"It is sad to see how detached from reality President Obama is when it comes to TPP," said Murshed Zaheed of Credo Action, a progressive activist group. "The symbolism of his speech is staggering -- the Nike brand was built by outsourcing manufacturing to sweatshops in Asia."
Elizabeth Warren has been leading a coalition with a group of important people who also oppose Obama's free-trade pact.
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