Seven Republicans tore into President Obama at CNN’s GOP Debate Monday night, but the president wasn’t watching, the White House says.

From Jay Carney’s briefing on Air Force One Tuesday:

“The president did not watch. He was otherwise occupied. I spoke with him this morning and he did not see any of it. … He never watched his own debates, so he’s not spending a lot of time watching other debates.”

Carney also reiterated the same talking point the Democratic National Committee is pushing Tuesday, noting a few words that were not spoken by the candidates.

“I would note as an observer having caught up with the replays, I was struck by the fact that middle class and education did not pass anyone’s lips that I heard, which was striking to me because the middle class is obviously to our mind the primary focus of everything we do, in terms of the economic policies we pursue, the concerns we have.”