( CNN ) In case you needed a reminder that President Barack Obama is n't running for office again , he just alienated not only Republicans , who have largely resented him from day one , but the progressive base of Democratic voters . Obama has argued with the progressive potentate Elizabeth Warren , calling her `` wrong '' on trade policy . The Massachusetts senator is the same potentate to whom Hillary Clinton has been religiously prostrating . What everyone does next will be critical for the 2016 elections and the future of Democratic politics . Warren has publicly criticized so-called `` fast track '' trade authority that would allow the White House to negotiate massive , multination trade deals with little congressional oversight . The authority would pave the way for trade pacts such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership , which is modeled on the North American Free Trade Agreement , and has killed 700,000 American jobs and drove wages down in the United States while simultaneously decimating Mexican agriculture and small businesses . Aspects of the TPP deal would provide incentives for off-shoring jobs to low-wage countries , imposing limits on government regulations around food safety and the environment , and create mechanisms for multinational corporations to challenge any domestic laws they simply do n't like . In December , Warren wrote a letter signed by several other Democrats to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman raising concerns about the TPP . The letter warned that the TPP could erode safeguards that have been put in place to `` prevent future financial crises . '' `` We can not afford a trade deal that undermines the government 's ability to protect the American economy , '' Warren wrote . At a town hall with MSNBC 's Chris Matthews on Tuesday , President Obama said , `` I love Elizabeth . We 're allies on a whole host of issues . But she 's wrong on this . '' Obama added , `` When you hear folks make a lot of suggestions about how bad this trade deal is , when you dig into the facts , they are wrong . '' But `` I 'm right and she 's wrong '' does n't exactly come off as a thoughtful , let alone respectful , response to the policy critiques of one of the most trusted economic justice leaders in the Democratic Party today . Meanwhile , Hillary Clinton is trying to walk a fine line somewhere in the middle . Clinton has recently courted Warren 's support while forcefully repeating the rhetoric of populism . But according to a report by The New York Times , Clinton 's staff is at pains to suggest that Clinton has always been a populist as opposed to merely trying to now co-opt a current trend . Yet it becomes harder to paint Clinton as the `` original Elizabeth Warren '' each time she equivocates on trade policy and the TPP . In a 2012 speech as secretary of state , Clinton praised the TPP as `` the gold standard in trade agreements to open free , transparent , fair trade , the kind of environment that has the rule of law and a level playing field . '' But now , as she campaigns for president facing a Democratic electorate divided over the deal , Clinton is sounding more critical . `` Any trade deal has to produce jobs and raise wages and increase prosperity and protect our security , '' Clinton said this week . So does Clinton support the TPP deal or not ? Campaigning in New Hampshire on Tuesday , Clinton reportedly declined to say one way or the other . That 's not the behavior of a fierce populist . It 's more indicative of the sort of politically calculated , ideologically centrist `` triangulation '' for which her husband was famous . Seizing on Clinton 's ambiguity , her potential challenger in the Democratic primary , Martin O'Malley , released a video this week making clear that he is against the TPP . According to a poll , as of 2012 just 1 in 4 Americans believed that NAFTA had benefited U.S. workers and only 1 in 3 believed it had benefited the U.S. economy overall . Even most Republicans in this poll supported the position that the United States should either `` renegotiate '' or `` leave '' NAFTA versus `` continue to be a member . '' In other words , any political leader with even the dimmest grasp of economics let alone political pragmatism should run away from a new trade deal modeled on imitating and expanding NAFTA . While it 's not surprising that Republicans are siding with big business and against working Americans in supporting the TPP , it 's befuddling that President Obama supports it . The only hope now is for 2016 Democratic candidates , especially Clinton at this point , to support populism not just in rhetoric but in real policy terms and show which party is , for the most part , on the side of the people and not on the side of multinational corporations . Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid minced no words in revealing his position about trade `` fast track '' authority : `` I 'm not only no , I 'm hell no . '' If Hillary Clinton wants to prove she 's a real populist , now 's her chance to be even more clear .
Sen. Elizabeth Warren has publicly criticized so-called `` fast track '' trade authority . Hillary Clinton : Why does President Obama call her wrong , and why is Sally Kohn equivocating ?