MESA — Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer says President Barack Obama complained to her about how she depicted him in her book.
It happened when Obama landed in Air Force One Wednesday at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, where Brewer met him on the tarmac.
Reporters observed the two leaders in intense conversation.
Pool reports from the president's arrival show that he was greeted by the governor who handed him what was described as a handwritten letter in an envelope. Brewer later described it as a personal note asking him to sit down to discuss the "Arizona comeback."
Brewer is a Republican. She later told reporters that Obama raised the treatment he received in her political memoir, “Scorpions for Breakfast.” She describes him in the book as lecturing her about immigration. Obama opposes Arizona’s strict immigration law.
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She said she told him she’s sorry he felt that way and that she respects the office of president.
A pool reporter said that at one point Brewer was pointing her finger at Obama and at another, they were talking at the same time, seemingly over each other.
He appeared to walk away from her while they were still talking, and she confirmed that by saying she didn't finish her sentence.
Asked later by reporters if she was taken aback by the conversation, a flustered Brewer said, "I'll regroup."
A White House spokesperson said Obama told Brewer that he would be glad to meet with her again, "but did note that after their last meeting, a cordial discussion in the Oval Office, the governor inaccurately described the meeting in her book."
The Associated Press and Capitol Media Services contributed to this story.
