British Prime Minister David Cameron is pushing back against a claim made by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker that he had made comments critical of President Obama:
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says British Prime Minister David Cameron confided in him that he was concerned about the direction of American leadership. But there’s a problem with the Republican’s tidy critique of President Barack Obama: Cameron doesn’t remember it that way.
Walker, who has taken several trips overseas in recent months to study up on foreign policy in preparation for an all-but-certain presidential bid, told a roomful of Republican donors Friday that world leaders, including Cameron, are worried about the U.S. stepping back in the world. “The Prime Minister did not say that and does not think that,” a Downing Street spokesperson told TIME.
“I heard that from David Cameron back in February earlier when we were over at 10 Downing,” Walker said. “I heard it from other leaders around the world. They’re looking around realizing this lead from behind mentality just doesn’t work. It’s just not working.”
His comments came at the E2 Summit hosted by former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in Deer Valley, Utah, where Walker was auditioning for support from some of the Republican Party’s deep-pocketed donors.
Walker did indeed meet Cameron when he was in the United Kingdom on what was ostensibly billed as a trade mission for Wisconsin, but the recent comments from Walker were the first time that the Wisconsin Governor had made any claims that the British Prime Minister had said anything about the President of the United States. In all honesty, it’s simply not plausible that Cameron ever actually said any such thing to Walker and, furthermore, it seems more than a little inappropriate for Walker to be discussion private conversations made during a trip that was supposed to be about trade with Wisconsin in such a blatantly political context. Perhaps Walker was just hearing what he wanted to hear from the Prime Minister, or perhaps he just made it up because it fits in with standard Republican attitudes about the President. Whatever the reason, it’s yet another in a long line of things from Walker that are making him look pandering and amateurish. And yet, he is near the top of the polls in the race for the Republican nomination. Draw your own conclusions from that.
