“Now, to their credit, I think on an issue like immigration reform, for example, companies did step up,” he said.

But this broad support from the business community has been undermined by the GOP’s unwillingness to see comprehensive reform passed in Congress, he said.

“And what they’re discovering is the problem is not the regulatory zealotry of the Obama administration; what they’re discovering is the dysfunction of a Republican Party that knows we need immigration reform, knows that it would actually be good for its long-term prospects, but is captive to the nativist elements in its party,” Obama said.