Jan Brewer’s Office Releases Copy of Letter She Handed to Obama
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JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images(PHOENIX) — Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer’s office initially said the letter she handed to President Obama during their tarmac encounter on Wednesday was for the president’s eyes only, and refused a request by The Arizona Republic for a copy of the letter, which asked for it under the state’s public records law.
A spokesman for Brewer asserted the letter was personal and the governor’s office had no copy of it.
But Thursday evening, Brewer’s office released a copy of the letter, which talks about job creation, Arizona’s budget and problems at the border.
[CLICK HERE TO SEE THE COPY OF THE LETTER]
Written in Brewer’s handwriting, it says in part, “You’ve arrived in a state at the forefront of America’s recovery — and her future. We both love this great country, but we fundamentally disagree on how to best make America grow and prosper once again. I’d love an opportunity to share with you how we’ve been able to turn Arizona around with hard choices that turned out to be the right ones. And, of course, my offer to visit the border — and buy lunch — still stands.”
Much has been written, said and speculated about the impromptu meeting at the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway airport that the governor said showed how “thin-skinned” Obama is about personal criticism.
She claimed that after handing the letter to Obama, she got a lecture from the president about the portrayal of a meeting she had with him in 2010 at the White House that was depicted in her book, Scorpions for Breakfast. Brewer was also critical of the White House response to Arizona’s controversial immigration enforcement law that will be ruled on by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Cameras caught the two speaking very intensely, with Brewer, at one stage, pointing her finger at the president. She claims Obama walked off on her in mid-sentence, adding that it was “disrespectful.”
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