Florida Rep. Allen West supports Newt Gingrich’s claim that President Obama is the “food stamp president.” Politico.com has reported that West said, “There is no race code. It’s a fact. Since President Obama has been in the Oval Office, you’ve seen a 41 percent increase in the food stamp recipients in the United States of America.” Allen believes that the remaining four GOP hopefuls must focus on appealing to the hard-working Americans:

Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) on Monday defended Newt Gingrich for referring to President Barack Obama as the “food stamp president,” disputing critics who have blasted the former speaker’s comments as racially charged.”There is no race code. It’s a fact. Since President Obama has been in the Oval Office, you’ve seen a 41 percent increase in the food stamp recipients in the United States of America,” West said on Fox News. “We have a president that’s making more American victims rather than victors.”

He added, “We also have a 16 percent increase in Americans on the poverty roll — 6.4 million more Americans are on poverty since President Obama took office.” Gingrich, who has come under fire for labeling Obama the “food stamp president,” once again defended his remarks on Sunday, accusing his critics of being dishonest about the president’s failed policies.

“I think it’s unfortunate that liberal leaders, whatever their ethnic backgrounds, can’t have an honest debate about policies that fail,” the former House speaker said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

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