http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/274091-obama-gop-thinks-i-would-have-turned-us-into-cuba By Jordan Fabian - 03/23/16 04:04 PM EDT
President Obama on Wednesday joked that Republicans believe he would have turned the United States into communist Cuba if constitutional limits on power didn’t exist.
The president was asked about the likelihood of GOP front-runner Donald Trump being elected president during a town hall with young people in Argentina.
Obama didn’t answer directly, saying he believes voters will make a “good choice” in the 2016 elections.
But even if voters pick a bad president, Obama said, “there is limits to the damage they can do” because of separation of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches.
“I’m sure Republicans feel that about me, they’re glad that there’s distribution of power,” he said. “They imagine I would have turned the United States into Cuba, I suppose. They tend to exaggerate a little bit how I see the world.”
The president's comments came after his two-day trip to Cuba.
Republicans criticized the president for visiting the communist island and meeting with its leader, Raúl Castro, calling it a reward to a government that represses its people.
Obama said there has been upheaval in both political parties that has led to more rancorous rhetoric, but added that the problem is more pronounced on the Republican side.
"The Republican Party, because of their efforts to oppose me, found themselves taking positions that were further and further away from the mainstream,” he said.
