Obama says Republicans are 'not interested in solving problems,' but they are 'interested in making you angry'

• Former President Obama said Republicans are disinterested in tackling issues affecting real people.
• "Own the libs and getting Donald Trump's approval. That's their agenda," he said on Saturday.

Former President Barack Obama on Saturday blasted Republicans for what he said was their disinterest in tackling actual problems, and accused them of being more "interested in making you angry."

While campaigning in Milwaukee for Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and Democratic Senate nominee Mandela Barnes, Obama quickly summed up what he felt the leading concerns of the GOP are.

"Own the libs and getting Donald Trump's approval. That's their agenda," Obama said of the party to rallygoers.

"They're not interested in solving problems. They're interested in making you angry, and then finding somebody to blame. And they're hoping that'll distract you from the fact that they don't have any answers of their own," he said.

The former president's message mirrored that of President Joe Biden, who since taking office has dealt with near-unanimous GOP opposition to his legislative agenda.

Biden has also called out House Republicans for their threats to use debt-ceiling negotiations to enact spending cuts — which could potentially include Medicare and Social Security — if the party regains a majority in the lower chamber in November.

During the rally, Obama called out Barnes' opponent — two-term GOP Sen. Ron Johnson — and accused the lawmaker of being out of touch with the concerns of working-class people in Wisconsin.

And the former president made the case as to why the Biden administration was continuing to fight for the needs of ordinary people, arguing that Republicans weren't articulating a real vision for governing.

"When gas prices go up, when grocery prices go up, that takes a bite out of people's paycheck. That hurts," Obama told the crowd. "But the question you should be asking is: 'Who's going to do something about it?' Republicans are having a field day running ads talking about it, but what is their actual solution to it?"

"I'll tell you: They want to gut Social Security, then Medicare, and then give some more tax breaks to the wealthy. And the reason I know that's their agenda is, listen, that's their answer to everything," he said.