The journalists at MSNBC and CNN loved Barack Obama’s defense of not using the phrase “radical Islamic terrorism.” Regarding the Tuesday speech, which also denounced Donald Trump, Andrea Mitchell was beside herself: “This was a passionate cry from the heart about his vision of America by this President. He has never before taken on Donald Trump and he just eviscerated Donald Trump in that extraordinary speech.”
Disgraced journalist Brian Williams anchored live coverage and enthused, “Well, we have never seen that before. The remarks that morphed into a foursquare defense of his position and a full-on attack into the rhetoric and words from Donald Trump just yesterday in his speech about radical Islamic terrorism.”
Williams paraphrased, “We've heard this President before, summed up in plain English, as, ‘It sure looks different from the cheap seats.’”
CNN also fawned over Obama’s address. CNN.com cheered on its home page, “Obama goes off on Trump.” After the speech ended, Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr hailed it as “one of the deepest messages I have seen a president give.”
BARBARA STARR (Pentagon correspondent): I think that, at the end, this was one of the deepest messages I have seen a president give about why this country has the military force that does. He referenced it as one military, one team, one fight, to paraphrase the president and you saw the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joe Dunford, a four star Marine at his side. For General Dunford to be standing there during essentially what was becoming rapidly a political statement cannot be underestimated.
Partial transcripts of MSNBC and CNN’s live coverage are below:
MSNBC
6/14/16
12:44pm ETBRIAN WILLIAMS: Well, we have never seen that before. The remarks that morphed into a foursquare defense of his position and a full-on attack into the rhetoric and words from Donald Trump just yesterday in his speech about radical Islamic terrorism. Even the phrase the President took head on. There is been a great premium of using that phrase, much attention given to his refusal here to reuse that phrase, much attention given to its refusal heretofore to use that phrase, its omission from his remarks. On this, Donald Trump's 70th birthday, the President took on directly all of the points Donald Trump raised yesterday, what started out as a recitation of the fight against ISIS ended up with the argument we heard from presidents before, we’ve heard this President before summed up in plain English as, “It sure looks different from the cheap seats.” Andrea Mitchell who has covered the President and many more, how would you sum up what we just witnessed?
ANDREA MITCHELL: This was a passionate cry from the heart about his vision of America by this President. He has never before taken on Donald Trump and he just eviscerated Donald Trump in that extraordinary speech. President Obama basically saying, “Do you think that we— that using a phrase is a military strategy? Do you think that we sit here saying well, maybe if we use the phrase radical Islamic terrorist than we can defeat ISIL?” And when you are the Situation, when you are the Commander-in-Chief of either party, any president, Obama or his predecessor, would say to a critic of this nominee of what are you thinking when you talk about using a phrase that a phrase itself is a strategy? He said it is cheap political rhetoric and takes apart all of those criticisms and interestingly, also, I thought his voice and the timber of his voice took on new urgency after reciting of what he claims to be the success of ISIS on the ground and cutting off their cash.
CNN live coverage
12:49pm ETBARBARA STARR (Pentagon correspondent): I think that, at the end, this was one of the deepest messages I have seen a president give about why this country has the military force that does. He referenced it as one military, one team, one fight, to paraphrase the president and you saw the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joe Dunford, a four star Marine at his side. For General Dunford to be standing there during essentially what was becoming rapidly a political statement cannot be underestimated.
