The feud between President Obama and Elizabeth Warren over free trade goes on.
Obama told Yahoo News that Warren is "absolutely wrong" when she says that presidents could use free trade promotion authority to undermine new regulations on Wall Street financial firms.
"The notion that I had this massive fight with Wall Street to make sure that we don't repeat what happened in 2007, 2008 -- and then I sign a provision that would unravel it?" Obama told Yahoo. "I'd have to be pretty stupid."
He added about Warren: "This is pure speculation. She and I both taught law school, and you know, one of the things you do as a law professor is you spin out hypotheticals. And this is all hypothetical, speculative."
The president and the Massachusetts senator -- whose supporters want her to run for president -- have tangled before over the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership with nations in Asia.
Warren, who says free trade deals send U.S. jobs overseas, also objects to giving the president "trade promotion authority." That would give the president the right to present a final agreement to Congress for an up-or-down vote without amendments.
Trade promotion authority could also lead to changes in the so-called Dodd-Frank law governing Wall Street practices, Warren said in a speech last week.
"After fighting hard to protect Dodd-Frank for years, Democrats in the next few weeks could give Republicans the very tool they need to dismantle Dodd-Frank," Warren said.
Not so, says Obama and aides.
"The truth of the matter is that Elizabeth is, you know, a politician like everybody else,"
Obama told Yahoo News. "And you know, she's got a voice that she wants to get out there. And I understand that. And on most issues, she and I deeply agree. On this one, though, her arguments don't stand the test of fact and scrutiny."
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