House Speaker Paul Ryan’s office on Monday rejected President Obama’s suggestion that the media is hyping up the Islamic State to get ratings, and said Obama should blame his failed policies for the results they’re getting instead of poor “messaging.”
When asked if the U.S. media was being “played” by the Islamic State, Obama said the press is “pursuing ratings,” and suggested the press isn’t helping by blowing the problem out of proportion.
But a statement released by Ryan’s office said Obama seems to be saying that fears about the Islamic State are “really a media creation.” It also said it’s not the first time that Obama has blamed “poor communication for America’s discontent rather than the failed policies themselves.”
“Actually, the president attributes the failures of his entire presidency to messaging problems,” the statement said. “When asked by Bill Simmons what one thing he would go back and tell himself in 2008, the president said, ‘I would probably tell myself to communicate more effectively early on than I did.'”
“When we passed a law requiring the president to present a plan to defeat ISIS, we weren’t talking about a communications plan,” it continued. “We need a comprehensive plan to destroy this enemy and protect our homeland.”
Ryan’s office noted that in 2014, Obama blamed his messaging for Democratic losses in Congress on messaging failures. It also said Obama’s White House has blamed messaging for people’s resistance to Obamacare, the $800 billion stimulus bill, and Democratic losses in 2010.
