Conservative media is giving Americans an incorrect view of the economy and racial divisions, President Barack Obama argued during a speech Wednesday in Elkhart, Indiana.
"America's economy is not just better than it was eight years ago. It is the strongest, most durable economy in the world," Obama said.
As he approaches his final months in office, Obama told the crowd he is concerned about the current direction of politics.
"I mean, we have been hearing this story for decades: tales about welfare queens, talking about takers, talking about the '47 percent,'" he said, in reference to Mitt Romney's secretly recorded comments during the 2012 campaign.
"It's the story that's broadcast every day on some cable news stations, on right wing radio. It's pumped into cars and bars and VFW halls all across America, and right here in Elkhart," he said in remarks reported on by
The Weekly Standard.
"And if you're hearing that story all the time, you start believing it. It's no wonder people think big government is the problem. No wonder public support for unions is so low. No wonder that people think the deficit has gone up under my presidency when it's actually gone down."
Obama said he purposely chose to give the speech in Elkhart because it typically votes Republican.