Donald Trump: Obama’s ‘almost doing better’ under GOP-controlled Senate

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump made the case this week that President Obama is “almost doing better” since Republicans re-took control of the U.S. Senate.

“I’m a Republican. I’m a conservative. Nothing’s happened since we took the Senate,” Mr. Trump said Tuesday evening on Fox News’ “Hannity” program. “Nothing’s happened. It’s the same exact story.”

“In fact, in a certain way, with all his executive orders, I think Obama’s almost doing better,” he said. “So we take the Senate, all of a sudden we have majorities — nothing’s happened.”

Mr. Obama announced his most recent executive actions on immigration to shield millions more illegal immigrants from the threat of deportation in November 2014, after Republicans won control of the Senate but before the new majority was sworn in. The actions have since been bogged down in the courts.

“I’m almost more disappointed — maybe I’ll take the word ’almost’ out — I am more disappointed in the Republicans than the Democrats, ’cause at least the Democrats, we know where they’re coming from,” Mr. Trump said. “The Republicans have done nothing. Look at the budget that was just passed. They’ve done nothing.”

Four current U.S. senators — Ted Cruz of Texas, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Marco Rubio of Florida — are vying along with Mr. Trump for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination.

The House GOP has also seen a leadership shake-up since last year, with former House Speaker John A. Boehner stepping down and House Speaker Paul Ryan leaving his Ways and Means committee chairmanship to replace Mr. Boehner.

Mr. Trump said last month that “they’re giving me a lot of credit” for House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s withdrawing his name from contention to be speaker.

A WBUR poll of likely GOP primary voters in New Hampshire released Wednesday showed 64 percent disapprove of the way Republican party leaders are handling their job, compared to 24 percent who approve.