After ignoring criticism on Monday of President Obama's claim to 60 Minutes that the intelligence community was to blame for having "underestimated" ISIS, Tuesday's CBS This Morning finally caught up with the story as co-host Norah O'Donnell declared: "...intelligence officials sort of brustled [sic] at hearing the President say that the intelligence community may have underestimated this threat. I mean, publicly, there's a paper trail of intelligence officials before Congress saying ISIS is a problem."
Fellow co-host Charlie Rose added: "We're also now hearing from high-level intelligence officials off the record, you know, that they think that it was wrong in a sense, as to some are suggesting, to throw intelligence community under the bus. I'm not sure the President meant to do that. But clearly, there is a push-back on the part of the intelligence community saying, 'We tried to tell you.'" [Listen to the audio]
O'Donnell began the segment by noting Senator John McCain pointedly criticizing Obama. However, she hinted it may have just been sour grapes: "A former challenger is bashing President Obama for telling 60 Minutes the intelligence community underestimated the threat from ISIS....McCain lost to the President in the 2008 election."
On Monday evening, only NBC Nightly News provided a fact-check to Obama's assertion that the intelligence community dropped the ball on ISIS.
CBS Evening News and CBS This Morning that day both replayed clips of the 60 Minutes interview, but did not examine the veracity of the President's remarks. This Morning did bring on Republican Congressman Paul Ryan to provide general criticism of Obama's Middle East policies.
On Tuesday, neither NBC's Today nor ABC's Good Morning America covered the continuing fallout from the President trying to pass the blame.
Here is a full transcript of the September 30 This Morning segment:
7:08 AM ET
NORAH O'DONNELL: A former challenger is bashing President Obama for telling 60 Minutes the intelligence community underestimated the threat from ISIS. Republican Senator John McCain says intelligence experts did warn that an Islamic State would pose a threat if the U.S. pulled all of its troops out of Iraq. McCain lost to the President in the 2008 election.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Underestimating ISIS; White House Defends Obama's 60 Mintues Interview]
Meanwhile, the White House press secretary says the President was not trying to blame anyone.
JOSH EARNEST [WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY]: The President of the United States is the commander-in-chief and he often talks about how he is the one that is ultimately responsible for protecting the national security interests of the United States of America all around the globe. There's no question that he relies on important advice from leaders in our military, from leaders in our diplomatic corps, and from leaders in our intelligence community.O'DONNELL: Earnest also said it is hard to predict the will of another country's security forces. Remember that the President told 60 Minutes that the U.S. overestimated Iraq's ability to fight off ISIS.
And, Charlie, I mean, you've heard it, I've heard it, intelligence officials sort of brustled [sic] at hearing the President say that the intelligence community may have underestimated this threat. I mean, publicly, there's a paper trail of intelligence officials before Congress saying ISIS is a problem.
ROSE: Starting in February. And the interesting thing, too, to me, is that so many people have said this publicly. But we're also now hearing from high-level intelligence officials off the record, you know, that they think that it was wrong in a sense, as to some are suggesting, to throw intelligence community under the bus. I'm not sure the President meant to do that. But clearly, there is a push-back on the part of the intelligence community saying, "We tried to tell you."
O'DONNELL: I think the story continues, yeah.
ROSE: Indeed.
