Republicans have all the cards and could be beating Democrats in the budget battle if half of them weren't afraid of the press, Donald Trump says.
Appearing Monday on Fox News Channel's "Your World," the real estate mogul said President Barack Obama is winning in the press.
That's scaring some Republicans, he said, forcing them to push for a deal even if it isn't the right deal. Most Democrats agree the United States should not be saddled with a $17 trillion debt, he said.
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"It's very hard when you have a lot of people out there saying, let's make any deal just to get this over with," Trump said. "That's not what it's all about. It's really about saving the country."
Trump spoke as reports surfaced that a tentative deal had been reached to raise the debt ceiling until mid-February and extend government funding through mid-January.
Reagan administration economist Art Laffer said he agreed with Trump, but wants to see a deal reached before too much damage is done.
"I want to make sure that when we take over — whether it be in '14 or '16 or whenever — that people can come together — Democrats and Republicans — they've not said so many hostile things and nasty name-calling that we can actually have a bipartisan administration like we did with Reagan," Laffer said.
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