President Obama drew “Turn Off Fox News” headlines on the Drudge Report when New York Times reporter Mark Landler noted in a pool report from a bar in Amherst, Ohio, that someone joked he was in a building with Fox on the TV.
Drudge also highlighted that top Obama aide Valerie Jarrett blamed Fox News for the impression that’s developed that Team Obama is waging a class war on the wealthy. As she relentlessly shoveled all the Obama talking points on July 1 at the leftish Aspen Ideas Festival, former Time editor Walter Isaacson nudged her about their public image:
ISAACSON: Sounds like a great vision. But so many businessmen and others have said that the message has become one of class warfare, attacking the rich, attacking people who make a profit, people who make jobs. Why is that that tone has been set, that people believe that this is a class war?
JARRETT: Well, they may be watching one particular network.
ISAACSON: CNN?
JARRETT: No.
The Aspen festival’s blog only included a chunk of Jarrett’s larger answer when it presented the highlights of the day:
"Anyone who has heard the president speak, he always says “this isn’t about class warfare—we cherish and want to nurture success. We just want to make sure everyone has the opportunity to be successful.” This is a country built on a strong middle class, which is good for business. If you’re hiring someone, you want to make sure they’re coming in qualified, with a good education." —Valerie Jarrett
As for the Ohio bar scene, BuzzFeed reported on Landler’s pool report to the White House press corps:
As he thanked the group for their support, one of them, Jeff Hawks, gestured to one of the TV's and said, "You're in a building that has Fox News on." Obama suggested that Hawks ask for it to be changed. "The customer is always right," he said.
Landler later added an update to add Obama spin: “he made the remark in a humorous exchange, as did in a subsequent exchange about arm-wrestling or playing basketball over the patron's vote.”
