The Hill News

The president has gotten a "bum rap" on his relationship with the business community, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday.

Speaking with Don Imus on Fox Business Network this morning, the outspoken Rep. Weiner (D-N.Y.) said President Obama's recent appointment of GM CEO Jeffrey Immelt to head the President's Council on Jobs and Economic competitiveness was not a sign the president had suddenly started to become friendly with the business community.

“I think there has been a beef by some that the president hasn’t been sensitive enough to things going on in the business community," Weiner said "I think that’s kind of a bum rap. If you look [at] the first two years of the administration, the business community, particularly on Wall Street, have done pretty well. I think it is important the president hear voices from all different spectrums of thought, and I think someone like Immelt who has experience with business can be nothing but good,! and it shows the president is learning some lessons. I see no harm in it.”

With the appointments of former JPMorgan Chase executive William Daley as President Obama's chief of staff and Immelt to run the president's new panel on job creation, some have said Obama is finally responding to criticism that he had not included in his administration enough senior staff with business management experience.

Obama has said his annual State of the Union tonight will focus on improving the country's economic competitiveness and creating more jobs.