During a closed-door meeting on Thursday, President Obama “suggested that some Democratic senators base their foreign policy positions on the preferences of their campaign donors.” The Washington Free Beacon,
Sen. Robert Menendez (D., N.J.) was livid at the president’s claim that his Democratic colleagues support increased sanctions on Iran as a way of appeasing their financial contributors, the New York Times reported:
The president said he understood the pressures that senators face from donors and others, but he urged the lawmakers to take the long view rather than make a move for short-term political gain, according to the senator. Mr. Menendez, who was seated at a table in front of the podium, stood up and said he took “personal offense.”
Mr. Menendez told the president that he had worked for more than 20 years to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions and had always been focused on the long-term implications. Mr. Menendez also warned the president that sanctions could not be imposed quickly if Congress waited to act and the talks failed, according to two people who were present.
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