TOP DEM SENATOR CLAIMS: GOP Leader Told Obama 'I Cannot Even Stand To Look At You'

AP

The No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), is claiming that a House GOP leader told President Barack Obama that the leader "cannot even stand to look at" him during a recent negotiation over the government shutdown and raising the nation's debt ceiling.

Durbin made the claim in a weekend Facebook post, which began gaining traction Tuesday night:

Many Republicans searching for something to say in defense of the disastrous shutdown strategy will say President Obama just doesn't try hard enough to communicate with Republicans. But in a "negotiation" meeting with the president, one GOP House Leader told the president: "I cannot even stand to look at you."

What are the chances of an honest conversation with someone who has just said something so disrespectful?

Durbin didn't provide any specifics on the conversation, or identify the member in question. Obama met with House Republicans, Senate Republicans, House Democrats, and House Republicans separately during the shutdown on multiple occasions.

Durbin's office didn't respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner was baffled by Durbin's allegation.

"The Speaker certainly didn't say that, and doesn't recall anyone else doing so," the spokesman said in an email.