MSNBC’s Chris Matthews joined dozens of TV pundits on Wednesday to say President Obama went too far when he criticized Republican governors for resisting his plans to resettle thousands of Syrian refugees throughout the country.
“I don’t think the president should ever get snarky. Why did he do it there?” the cable news host asked Wednesday.
Islamic State-affiliated terrorists launched a series of attacks on Paris last week, killing 129 and injuring hundreds more. In response to the Parisian terror wave, more than half of America’s governors have announced efforts to slow the flow of Syrians into their states, explaining that they have grave concerns about whether ISIS may be hiding among the refugees.
On Tuesday, the president defended his attempts to take in Middle East refugees, many of whom have been displaced by the Syrian civil war and the rise of the Islamic State. Obama told reporters that GOP criticism amounts to little more than “political posturing.”
“We are not well served when, in response to a terrorist attack, we descend into fear and panic,” Obama told reporters after a meeting at the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Manilla.
“We don’t make good decisions if it’s based on hysteria or an exaggeration of risks,” Obama added. “Apparently, they are scared of widows and orphans coming into the United States of America.”
The president didn’t leave it at that, and he ramped up rhetoric against Republican lawmakers.
“At first they were too scared of the press being too tough on them in the debates. Now they are scared of 3-year-old orphans. That doesn’t seem so tough to me,” he said.
“I cannot think of a more potent recruitment tool for ISIL than some of the rhetoric coming out of here in the course of this debate,” he added.
These remarks didn’t sit well with Matthews, who suggested later that Obama is merely opening the door for Republicans to launch in-kind rhetorical attacks on the White House.
“Why is he making fun of the Republicans?” the MSNBC host asked.
(h/t Mediaite)
