NPR’s Steve Inskeep continued his media tour on Monday promoting his fawning sit-down interview with President by appearing with CNN Tonight host Don Lemon and, when asked about the President attacking the media for supposedly overhyping threats posed by ISIS, Inskeep stood up for the President by suggesting that it was “not a very outlandish idea that he's putting out there.”
After Lemon and Inskeep discussed various comments the President made concerning race, they turned to terrorism and the media as Lemon introduced a clip of the President: “Let's talk about security now and about foreign policy. You also asked the President about his ISIS strategy and he says it's important for Americans to, quote, “keep things in perspective.” He also took a swipe at us, the news media.”
In the clip, Obama lamented how “post-Paris,” there has been “a saturation of news about the horrible attack there and, you know, ISIL combines viciousness with very savvy media operations and as a consequence, if you've been watching television for the last month, all you've been seeing, all you've been hearing about is these guys with masks or black flags who were potentially coming to get you.”
When Lemon asked Inskeep to respond, the liberal Morning Edition host came right out and offered a full-throated defense of the President:
Well, let's remember what he's actually saying is the media are overcoming — over covering a story, covering it too much and we're on CNN, Don, so we know this happens from time to time. It even happens on NPR from time to time. We obsess over something that maybe blows it out of proportion and some time passes and you realize it's not so important. So, it's not a very outlandish idea that he's putting out there.
Inskeep went onto hint that the President could perhaps be more receptive to “substantive complaints” regarding his ISIS policy, but soon after went back to spinning for the President, opining that “he’s trying to make a complicated point”:
He is arguing this is a dangerous threat, but that there are many, many threats that the world faces and that the United States faces and you don't want to miss everything else just because you're emphasizing that one thing a little much.
The relevant portion of the transcript from December 21's CNN Tonight can be found below.
CNN Tonight
December 21, 2015
10:20 p.m. Eastern
DON LEMON: Let's talk about security now and about foreign policy. You also asked the President about his ISIS strategy and he says it's important for Americans to, quote, “keep things in perspective.” He also took a swipe at us, the news media. Watch this.
INSKEEP: What is the public missing about your strategy? And I say that simply because according to polls, you don't have very much approval for it.
OBAMA: Well, I think that what's fair is that post-Paris, you had a saturation of news about the horrible attack there and, you know, ISIL combines viciousness with very savvy media operations and as a consequence, if you've been watching television for the last month, all you've been seeing, all you've been hearing about is these guys with masks or black flags who were potentially coming to get you.
LEMON: So, Steve, people will say that usually blaming the media, right? It happens a lot, you know, the liberal media on the conservative side, but this is a democrat and a liberal. He says the media public — the media coverage is raising public fears and he says that media pursuing ratings. What do you think about that?
INSKEEP: Well, let's remember what he's actually saying is the media are overcoming — over covering a story, covering it too much and we're on CNN, Don, so we know this happens from time to time. It even happens on NPR from time to time. We obsession something that maybe blows it out of proportion and some time passes and you realize it's not so important. So, it's not a very outlandish idea that he's putting out there. Now, where he can be criticized is by saying that the media are covering the story in the wrong way and by saying that I, the President of the United States,, have not done a good enough job in explaining my side, he is sidestepping, this is what his critics can say, substantive complaints about his policy and whether it's working. He is essentially saying I have a strategy, my strategy is going to work. I can tell the public doesn't buy it at this time, but that's because of a failure to explain it quite well enough and that's what I want to do a little better. In fairness also to the President, I want to say he's trying to make a complicated point. He is arguing this is a dangerous threat, but that there are many, many threats that the world faces and that the United States faces and you don't want to miss everything else just because you're emphasizing that one thing a little much.
