President Barack Obama felt right at home while giving an important speech during his tour in the Middle East.
While speaking to university students at the Jerusalem International Convention Center on Thursday, a man in the audience began shouting at the President.
Recommended Stories
Ever the laid-back guy, President Obama took a few seconds and cupped his ear with his hand in what looked like an effort to hear what the heckler was saying – never mind that he wasn’t speaking English – while the crowds began to boo the heckler. After shading his eyes in an effort to see the heckler, the President then diverged from his peace-focused speech.
“No, no, this is part of the lively debate that we talked about,” he said as the crowd began cheering and rose to their feet. “This is good.”
The heckler was apparently a reporter who was yelling about jailed Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, whom many Israelis want Obama to pardon while visiting the country. The White House said President Obama has no plans to free Pollard while he is there.
Taking credit for yet another thing he obviously didn’t do, the President added, “You know, I have to say, we actually arranged for that because it made me feel at home. I wouldn’t feel comfortable if I didn’t have at least one heckler.”
But then again, if the White House spends money on Secret Service to staff Obama’s golf trips, it probably wouldn’t be surprising if it spent money on hiring hecklers to make the POTUS feel more at home.
