Obama: Racial tensions not rising

As control of Congress shifts to the GOP next year, President Barack Obama said that also means a change in the Washington blame game.

“Now you’ve got Republicans in a position where it’s not enough for them simply to grind the wheels of Congress to a halt and then blame me,” Obama said in an interview with NPR after being asked about working with the next Congress.


Obama sat down with NPR’s Steve Inskeep for an interview Dec. 18, the entirety of which will be broadcast in three installments, airing daily from Monday through Wednesday. In excerpts released Friday, the president also dismissed claims that racial tensions are increasing as protests following the events in Ferguson, Missouri, as well as the deaths of Eric Garner and two New York Police Department officers, have overtaken recent headlines.

“No, I actually think that it’s probably in its day-to-day interactions less racially divided,” Obama said when asked if divisions have increased since he took office six years ago.