Obama mocks Republican debate complaints

Obama mocked GOP presidential candidates Monday night for their criticism of last week’s debate in Colorado, telling a group of Democratic donors it couldn’t be any harder than dealing with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

The Republicans candidates “say, ‘when I talk to Putin, he’s going to straighten out’ — and then it turns out they can’t handle a bunch of CNBC moderators,” Obama said during a Democratic fundraiser at the Richard Rodgers Theater in New York City.

Some Republicans said the moderators at last week’s CNBC debate asked biased questions and generally failed to control the event that featured numerous interruptions and arguments. They are seeking format changes to future debates.

Obama is unimpressed: “If you can’t handle those guys, I don’t think the Chinese and the Russians are going to be too worried about you.”

In an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt, Obama reiterated his critique of GOP complaints about the recent debate. “You’ve got to be able to field difficult questions, and that’s what citizens should expect.”