Report: Obama Fiscal Cliff Remarks Spark Republican Threats To Blow Up Deal

With hours remaining to avert the so-called fiscal cliff President Barack Obama said a deal is “within sight” and urged lawmakers to come together to avert automatic tax hikes and spending cuts that kick in on Tuesday, the Huffington Post reports.

But his midday press conference, the report said, with a group of middle-class Americans looking on, was not without a bit of bravado as well. Obama took multiple shots at Congress for its clumsiness in negotiations and insisted that he'd demand more tax hikes if the legislative body used the impending debt ceiling standoff to demand spending cuts.

From the report:

In the process, the president irked several Republican aides, who suggested that the entire fiscal cliff deal had been complicated because of his tone and criticism.

For more on the fiscal cliff, read the Huffington Post's report.

More on the fiscal cliff:

• Preparing for the “Fiscal Cliff”
  
• What the Fiscal Cliff Means For Your 2013 Paycheck
• Political Rewind: Politicians Call for Fiscal Cliff Solution
• The Fiscal Cliff And Expiring Tax Cuts For The Rich: A Common Sense Solution From A No-Nonsense Guy
• Tax Planning in a lower tax environment