Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney had some strikingly harsh words for President Obama over his lack of a coherent strategy to combat the terrorist group ISIS.
Appearing on Fox News Sunday on September 9, Romney slammed President Obama by insisting that he was “too busy on the golf course to pick up the phone and meet with the leaders around the world and to say what happens if.”
The former Massachusetts governor’s comments came in response to moderator Chris Wallace hyping how in July Gallup “did a poll of voters asking them if they had 2012 all to do over again, how would they vote. You'll be happy to know this time you won 53 percent to 44 percent...Do you think Americans are having some buyer’s remorse about 2012?”
Governor Romney then proceeded to strongly rebuke President Obama’s foreign policy:
I think they have some buyer’s remorse about President Obama. I'm not sure how they feel about me but that’s kind of irrelevant. The real question is how’s this president doing. And frankly they recognize the president has not been engaged.
The former governor continued his criticism of Obama by insisting he spends too much time on the golf course and not enough time working with world leaders:
We’ve fought long and hard to provide security and freedom for those people. And yet, the president was, I don’t know, too busy on the golf course to pick up the phone and meet with the leaders around the world and to say what happens if. You know, the Pentagon was going through what if scenarios. But the president apparently wasn't. Hasn’t developed a strategy. I don't know whether you can’t see reality from a fairway, but the president has not seen the reality internationally.
Romney concluded his takedown of President Obama by maintaining that both his foreign and domestic policies are hurting Americans:
And then domestically, we’ve got what, 92 million people that have stopped looking for work that are out of work in this country. It’s unacceptable. The American people are struggling, having a hard time. This president’s policies both at home and abroad are hurting people and people are responding in the way they review him.
See relevant transcript below.
Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace
September 7, 2014CHRIS WALLACE: I mentioned at the top of the show the president’s 38 percent approval rating now in the Gallup poll, tying an all-time low. In July they did a poll of voters asking them if they had 2012 all to do over again, how would they vote. You'll be happy to know this time you won 53 percent to 44 percent. Obviously that doesn’t put you in the Oval Office. The question I have for you governor is this. Do you think Americans are having some buyer’s remorse about 2012?
MITT ROMNEY: Oh, I think they have some buyer’s remorse about President Obama. I'm not sure how they feel about me but that’s kind of irrelevant. The real question is how’s this president doing. And frankly they recognize the president has not been engaged. The idea that we have a group known as ISIS or ISIL that we've known about for almost a year. Where members of Congress have said to the president, prepare for this, get ready for them. Make sure they don’t make incursions into Iraq. I mean, we’ve fought long and hard to provide security and freedom for those people. And yet, the president was, I don’t know, too busy on the golf course to pick up the phone and meet with the leaders around the world and to say what happens if.
You know, the Pentagon was going through what if scenarios. But the president apparently wasn't. Hasn’t developed a strategy. I don't know whether you can’t see reality from a fairway, but the president has not seen the reality internationally. And then domestically, we’ve got what, 92 million people that have stopped looking for work that are out of work in this country. It’s unacceptable. The American people are struggling, having a hard time. This president’s policies both at home and abroad are hurting people and people are responding in the way they review him.
