Corbyn is the grounded realist, says Labour after Obama slight
JEREMY Corbyn has brushed aside criticism from Barack Obama after the outgoing US president suggested Labour had lost touch with reality and was disintegrating.
Mr Obama made the controversial remarks when asked if he feared a “Corbynisation” of the Democratic Party in America after its surprise defeat to Republican Donald Trump in the race for the White House.
In an interview with strategist David Axelrod, Mr Obama was asked if he feared the Democrats could “disintethe grate” like Labour had. He replied: “I don’t worry about that, partly because the Democratic Party has stayed pretty grounded in fact and reality.”
Mr Obama said even US left-wing senator Bernie Sanders was “pretty centrist” compared to Mr Corbyn.
A spokesman for the Labour leader insisted the veteran left-winger was, in fact, “grounded in reality”.
“What Jeremy Corbyn stands for is what most people want: to take on the tax cheats; create a fairer economy; fund a fully public NHS; build more homes and stop backing illegal wars,” he said.