Obama on Garland: ‘The American People Did Decide When They Elected Me’

TOTENBERG: "Are you taking this on the road?"
OBAMA: "Well, you know, I’m going to make the case — I’m going to make the case for a fair process. Give Judge Garland a hearing; give him a vote. And look at the qualities of the man. That’s what the American people expect. And, you know, one of the most puzzling arguments that I’ve heard from Mitch McConnell and some other Republicans is this notion that the American people should decide — we should let the American people decide, as part of this election, who gets to fill this seat.

"Well in fact, the American people did decide, back in 2012 when they elected me president of the United States with sufficient electoral votes. And they also decided that the Republicans would be in the majority. They didn’t say, “We’re going to decide that you’re in charge for three years, and then in the last year you all take a break.” They said, “No, you’re the president for four years, and Mr. McConnell, you’re going to be the leader, because we’ve given you a majority in the Senate.”

"So the American people already have decided. They’ve already weighed in. They will have another opportunity to weigh in, so that if there is another vacancy that comes up, the next president will fill that vacancy.

"The bottom line is that there has not been a coherent argument presented. The real argument is the one that you made, Nina, which is that they don’t want a Democrat filling the seat, and they are worried and scared about their political base punishing them if they allow a Democrat to fill the seat."