Obama Weighs in on GOP Convention

07-22-2016

Speaking at a press conference Friday, President Obama says he didn't watch the Republican National Convention.

"I don't think that's a surprise," he said, "I've got a lot to do and they're long events."

However, after reading press reports about Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's speech, Obama said the "fears expressed don’t jive with the facts."

He says the rate of intentional killings of police officers is down from when Ronald Reagan was president. He says illegal migration into the U.S. is down by 2/3 since Reagan’s presidency and violent crime is also down.

The president congratulated the city of Cleveland and law enforcement for hosting and securing a successful event.

President Obama is enjoying pretty high approval numbers; still many Americans believe the nation is heading in the wrong direction. The president suggests that's because there a lots of good things going on that never get reported (it's always the media’s fault!). However, it's a perception Clinton will have to deal with as she works to use the president to her advantage while carving out her own policy proposals.

The president spoke at joint press conference with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto who was at the White House for what will likely be his last meeting with Mr. Obama before he leaves office.

President Nieto says he will not get involved or give any opinion about America’s presidential race. However, he has previously said Mexico will not and cannot afford to build a wall along our shared border.

When asked about the attempted military coup in Turkey, President Obama said reports that the United States knew about or had any involvement in the coup are completely false.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blames cleric Fethullah Gulen and asked to have him extradited from the U.S. President Obama says he’s told Erdogan there’s a tested process in place for extradition requests that will be followed in this case.

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