The “big three” of ABC, CBS, and NBC showed no interest in covering on Wednesday night the optics of President Obama touting global warming as a “serious threat,” in a speech to graduates of the Coast Guard Academy, days after the Iraqi city of Ramadi fell to ISIS.
While the networks avoided this story, the Fox News Channel (FNC) program Special Report offered a full segment on the President’s remarks and their timing in relation to the continued rise of ISIS.
Prior to correspondent Kevin Corke’s report, host Bret Baier set the scene by noting the optics of Obama’s remarks and the spread of ISIS: “The Associated Press reports ISIS terrorists are already rampaging through much of Iraq, have captured the ancient Syrian town of Palymra. But President Obama is focused, tonight, on another enemy.”
Describing it as an “an unlikely venue” to push the issue of global warming, Corke explained that “President Obama used his commencement address at the Coast Guard Academy to warn graduates of the dangers of climate change.”
Following an Obama soundbite, Corke brought up how the President’s speech was given so that it could “coincide with the release of a White House report on the national security implications of warmer global temperatures.” Concerning the military, Corke added that the report lamented “the unique threat rising sea levels could pose to Coast Guard stations and thousands of military facilities.”
More broadly, Corke detailed how Obama also took time to blame global warming on the rise of Boko Horam and the civil war in Syria:
In making the broader connection to national security, the President also cited severe drought conditions in Nigeria, which he said led to economic instability and later, the rise of the terror group Boko Haram. He also added that drought conditions plunged Syria into a devastating Syrian war[.]
With all that in mind, Corke brought up what Obama avoided in his speech in ISIS’s seizure of Ramadi: “[B]ut in a week, when ISIS seized control of Ramadi in Iraq, killing hundreds and leaving tens of thousands seeking shelter, there was heated criticism of the speech on Capitol Hill.”
Not surprisingly, this was far from the first time that the networks were silent on claims made by President Obama and left Special Report to pick up after them. On February 9, Obama dismissed the dangers of terrorism and blasted the media for hyping them. That evening, none of the networks made a point to mention Obama’s remarks but Special Report did.
In addition, other examples of this occurring included Obama drawing a moral equivalency between ISIS and Christianity on February 5 and neglecting to mention during coverage of the Charlie Hebdo attacks in January that Obama told the United Nations on September 25, 2012 that “the future does not belong to those who slander the Prophet of Islam.”
The relevant portions of the transcript from FNC’s Special Report with Bret Baier on May 20 can be found below.
FNC’s Special Report with Bret Baier
May 20, 2015
6:23 p.m. Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE CAPTION: Weather or Not]
BRET BAIER: The Associated Press reports ISIS terrorists are already rampaging through much of Iraq, have captured the ancient Syrian town of Palymra. But President Obama is focused, tonight, on another enemy. Correspondent Kevin Corke tonight on the Commander-in-Chief and his interesting call to action.
KEVIN CORKE: It was a familiar message, but at an unlikely venue.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: You are part of the first generation of officers to begin your service in a world where the affects of climate change are so clearly upon us.
CORKE: President Obama used his commencement address at the Coast Guard Academy to warn graduates of the dangers of climate change.
OBAMA: Climate change constitutes a serious threat to global security. An immediate risk to our national security and make no mistake, it will impact how our military defends our country and so we need to act and we need to act now.
CORKE: The speech was timed to coincide with the release of a White House report on the national security implications of warmer global temperatures. That study cited the unique threat rising sea levels could pose to Coast Guard stations and thousands of military facilities. The report suggested more climate changes could mean more natural disasters and that could strain already limited Guard resources. In making the broader connection to national security, the President also cited severe drought conditions in Nigeria, which he said led to economic instability and later, the rise of the terror group Boko Haram. He also added that drought conditions plunged Syria into a devastating Syrian war, but in a week, when ISIS seized control of Ramadi in Iraq, killing hundreds and leaving tens of thousands seeking shelter, there was heated criticism of the speech on Capitol Hill.
(....)
CORKE: This on a day when Iran's supreme leader again ruled out international inspections of Iranian military sites, threatening the success of the U.S.-led nuclear arms talks.
