JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — President Barack Obama on Friday pushed back against relentless Republican criticism of his economic leadership, saying his policies are paying off in “big tangible ways” and anyone who doesn’t acknowledge that is “not telling the truth.”

With some of the remaining GOP presidential candidates accusing one another of lying, Obama stopped short of accusing them of doing the same regarding his record. He bristled at their claims the economy remains weak and cited 71 consecutive months of job creation and an unemployment rate that has fallen by more than half to 4.9 percent.

“You don’t hear a lot about this from the folks who are on the campaign trail,” Obama said. “Anybody who says we are not absolutely better off today than we were just seven years ago, they’re not leveling with you, they’re not telling the truth.”

The office of House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., disagreed and argued Obama’s policies have led to one of the slowest economic recoveries in U.S. history. His policies included the Recovery Act, a $760 billion economic stimulus bill Obama pushed through Congress just weeks after he took office in an attempt to halt the worst economic downturn in generations.

“The results speak for themselves,” Ryan’s office said in a statement. “Stagnant wages, weak job growth, millions of Americans still unemployed and millions more living in poverty.” The statement said: “These are not signs of economic recovery; they are signs of a weak economy held back by the federal government.”