Minutes after President Obama took a jab at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a Monday press conference, MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell cheered the put-down: "...he was asked about this very controversial visit by Benjamin Netanyahu two weeks before an Israeli election....And the President very pointedly said, 'We have this protocol. We don't invite leaders. If Angela Merkel had an election in two weeks she wouldn't be here right now and my bet is that she wouldn't have asked to come.' Take that, Bibi."
Mitchell touted liberals escalating the supposed controversy: "A gathering of Democrats, House and Senate, are now saying they're going to boycott this speech. They see it as a political invitation by John Boehner....But no sign yet that Netanyahu is backing off of it."
Mark Landler of The New York Times agreed with Mitchell's assessment: "Yes, he [Obama] took a definite swipe at Bibi there and suggested sort the diplomatic equivalent of bad manners. And you know, he also pointed out, just for the record, they have a deep disagreement on the Iranian nuclear talks. So that was a tough tone all around on the Israeli prime minister."
On her January 29 program, Mitchell hyped the administration whining over Netanyahu: "The White House is furious, furious at Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu and also a little bit angry at Speaker Boehner for inviting Netanyahu to speak before Congress, to a joint meeting of Congress without even consulting the administration – protocol would dictate that."
Here is a transcript of the February 9 exchange:
12:55 PM ET
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ANDREA MITCHELL: And the other point here was that he was asked about this very controversial visit by Benjamin Netanyahu two weeks before an Israeli election. A gathering of Democrats, House and Senate, are now saying they're going to boycott this speech. They see it as a political invitation by John Boehner. The Israelis are now saying, "Well, Boehner told us the Democrats were behind it, we didn't realize it was going to be this toxic." But no sign yet that Netanyahu is backing off of it. And the President very pointedly said, "We have this protocol. We don't invite leaders. If Angela Merkel had an election in two weeks she wouldn't be here right now and my bet is that she wouldn't have asked to come." Take that, Bibi.
MARK LANDLER: Yes, he took a definite swipe at Bibi there and suggested sort the diplomatic equivalent of bad manners. And you know, he also pointed out, just for the record, they have a deep disagreement on the Iranian nuclear talks. So that was a tough tone all around on the Israeli prime minister.
MITCHELL: And the President said no point extending if we are – unless we're close to a deal. Thank you so much, Mark Landler.
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