President Barack Obama says the Occupy Wall Street movement was born of many of the same sentiments that led to the tea party movement.
“I understand the frustrations being expressed in those protests,” Obama said in an interview with ABC News. “In some ways, they’re not that different from some of the protests that we saw coming from the Tea Party. Both on the left and the right, I think people feel separated from their government. They feel that their institutions aren’t looking out for them.”
The president made the comments in an interview with ABC News correspondent Jake Tapper set for broadcast on the network’s “Nightline” program tonight. The network released excerpts from the interview conducted in Jamestown, N.C., where the president was making a stop on his three-day bus tour to promote his economic proposals.
Obama said his proposals to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans and close some corporate loopholes can help restore a sense that “everybody gets a fair shake but we’re also asking a fair share from everybody.”
Doing so will help dissipate some of the anger expressed by demonstrators, he said.
The protests over income disparity that began in New York’s financial district have spread as far as Rome and Hong Kong
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