--- title: Barack Obama: Republicans Trying to 'Bamboozle' on Income Inequality description: "Tell us how you're going to help the middle class," Obama said canonical: https://time.com/3716616/barack-obama-republicans-income-inequality/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-20T17:03:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:40:51.546Z article:section: Politics og:title: Obama Says Republicans Are Trying to 'Bamboozle Folks' on Income Inequality og:description: "Tell us how you're going to help the middle class," Obama said og:url: https://time.com/3716616/barack-obama-republicans-income-inequality/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt53764c340ec12e95/69878042524fc0b7dedec920/president-barack-obama-dnc.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: US President Barack Obama speaks during the General Session of the 2015 DNC Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 20, 2015. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama Says Republicans Are Trying to 'Bamboozle Folks' on Income Inequality twitter:description: "Tell us how you're going to help the middle class," Obama said twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt53764c340ec12e95/69878042524fc0b7dedec920/president-barack-obama-dnc.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Obama Says Republicans Are Trying to 'Bamboozle Folks' on Income Inequality > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: The 2015 State of the Union in Under 2 Minutes [Watch (HLS stream): The 2015 State of the Union in Under 2 Minutes](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/oRJrdKrq.m3u8) (1:49)  _Published 2015-01-21. President Barack Obama delivered his 2015 State of the Union Address to Congress Tuesday laying out a new vision for what his administration terms “middle-class economics.”_ by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Feb 20, 2015 5:03 PM UTC  US President Barack Obama speaks during the General Session of the 2015 DNC Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 20, 2015. US President Barack Obama speaks during the General Session of the 2015 DNC Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 20, 2015. Alex Wong—EPA by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Feb 20, 2015 5:03 PM UTC President Barack Obama took a skeptical approach Friday to the Republican Party’s recent focus on on income inequality and the middle class, saying the GOP’s “rhetoric has not matched the reality.” In a fiery address to his party’s leadership at the Democratic National Committee’s winter meeting, Obama questioned the sincerity the GOP’s evolution, embraced by everyone from Mitt Romney to Rand Paul. “I am encouraged that they’re speaking about middle class, and speaking about wages,” Obama said. “But there is this old saying that you can’t just talk the talk… you’ve gotta walk the walk.” Listing issues from minimum wage to paid sick leave, Obama said that if Republicans were serious about helping the middle class, they’d work with him, rather than block his agenda. “Tell us how you’re going to help the middle class,” Obama said. “We’ve got an agenda and we know it works.” “If you’re really troubled with income inequality, you can’t put forward proposals that give tax breaks to the folks that are doing the best, the millionaires and billionaires,” Obama added. At a panel hosted by the Koch-brothers affiliated Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce last month, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz joined the chorus of Republicans embracing the “divided America” narrative. “The simple truth is those with resources are doing well,” Cruz said. “The people who have been hammered for the past six years are working men and women.” ### Photos: What Obama's Hugs Meant  You can see it by Obama’s bowed head and Hagel’s sorrowful face – this is an “I’m sorry” hug, plain and simple. Mandel Ngan—AFP/Getty Images  This hug between Obama and former Press Secretary Jay Carney may have been commemorating Carney’s departure, but all people will remember is its awkwardness. Susan Walsh—AP  Here’s where Obama’s hug game is the strongest: with Michelle. The peaceful smile on his face, the warm, full-body embrace – this is clearly an “I love you” hug. Consider it the antidote to the Carney debacle. Jim Watson—AFP/Getty Images  Obama’s hug with nurse Nina Pham after her battle with Ebola was a way to signal to the public that the disease is not as scary as some had thought. This is the hug as public health awareness. Olivier Douliery-—Getty Images  Critics charged that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie "hugged" the president, but the Republican claimed it was just a handshake. Jewel Samad—AFP/Getty Images  The photo of Obama hugging a victim of Hurricane Sandy went viral- his solemn face and her tear-stained one, his arms protectively around her shoulders – this is a presidential hug in its purest form. Pablo Martinez Monsivais—AP  Though Obama’s peck on Burmese democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi’s cheek was a pro-democracy smooch, her visible recoil from the kiss indicates that he may have been better off with a handshake. Jason Reed—Reuters  Obama was literally swept off his feet by pizzeria owner Scott Van Duzer. The now-famous bear hug was a “celebrities are just like us” moment, when Obama showed he could still joke around in a regular ol’ pizza joint. Sept. 9, 2012. Pablo Martinez Monsivais—AP “I think the shift in rhetoric that they’re engaging in is good if it actually leads them to take different actions,” Obama said Friday. “And if it doesn’t then it’s just spin.” “They’re trying to bamboozle folks,” he added. Obama also mocked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s proclamation earlier this year that a recent uptick in economic growth should be credited to Republicans picking up seats in November. “I didn’t know that’s how the economy worked,” Obama quipped, “but… maybe?” ## Transcript Our economy is growing and creating jobs at the fastest pace since 1999. { APPLAUSE ] At every step we were told our goals were misguided, or too ambitious. Instead we've see the fastest economic growth in over decade. Our deficit's cut by two- thirds. A stock market that has doubled and healthcare inflation at its lowest rate in 50 years. [ APPLAUSE ] This is good news people. [ LAUGH ] [ APPLAUSE ] And in a 21st century economy that rewards knowledge like never before we need to up our game. We need to do more. And that's why I'm sending this congress a bold, new plan to lower the cost of community college to zero. [ APPLAUSE ] 21st century businesses need 21st century infrastructure. So let's set our sights higher than a single oil pipeline. Let's pass a bipartisan infrastructure plan. Our shift. And Cuba policy has the potential to end a legacy of mistrust in our hemisphere, and extends the hand of friendship to the Cuban people. I want our actions to tell every child in every neighborhood, 'Your life matters.' Man and woman, young and old, black and white, Latino, Asian, immigrant, Native American, gay, straight- Americans with mental illness and physical disability. Everybody matters. I want them to grow up in a country that shows the world what we know to be true. That we are still more than a collection of red states and blue states and we are the United States of America. Thank you. God bless you. [ APPLAUSE ] God bless this country that we love. 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