2 Of The 3 People On The Arizona Tarmac Say gop Gov. Lied About President Obama’s Demeanor

2nd Mayor Says Obama ‘Wasn’t Tense At All’ During Brewer Encounter

Out of the three officials who met President Obama on an airport tarmac near Phoenix earlier this week, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) is now the only one who has characterized the president as anything other than cordial.

But Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, who was standing just feet away from the president and the governor on Wednesday during their now-infamous encounter, told TPM that Obama seemed calm the whole time.

“He wasn’t tense at all,” Stanton said on Friday. “The guy’s a pro.”

Though Stanton declined to discuss exactly what the governor and president said to each other, he said Obama’s classic coolness was evident.

“He doesn’t get animated, but he looks you in the eye and tells you what he thinks,” Stanton said. “And I think that’s honestly what he did is he looked the governor in the eye and spoke and told her what he was really feeling.”

Stanton, a Democrat, is now the second elected Arizona official whose account of the incident contradicts the way Brewer has described it.

The other politician on hand to greet the president, Republican Mayor Scott Smith of Mesa, Ariz., told TPM on Thursday that the discussion between the president and governor was an “awkward moment” but little more than that.