During an interview on “Meet the Press” Sunday, NBC host Chuck Todd asked President Obama about his ill-advised decision to play golf immediately after delivering a statement on the murder of American journalist James Foley at the hands of ISIS terrorists.
“I got to ask, so — so during that vacation, you made the statement on Foley. You went and golfed. Do you — do you want that back?” asked Todd.
Describing the situation as a “challenge,” Obama suggested that he merely wanted a break from the press at the moment. However, he eventually admitted his mistake and explained that he should have anticipated the backlash and criticism for his apparent insensitivity.
“There’s no doubt that — after having talked to the families, where it was hard for me to hold back tears listening to the pain that they were going through, after the statement that I made, that you know, I should’ve anticipated the optics,” Obama expanded.
He also said that the “theatre” of the job as president doesn’t come “naturally” to him, which he made obvious this past summer when he insisted that he isn’t interested in photo ops.
“Part of this job is also the theatre of it,” the president continued. “A part of it is, you know, how are you, how, how are you, well, it’s not something that — that always comes naturally to me. But it matters. And I’m mindful of that. So the important thing is, in addition to that, is am I getting the policies right? Am I protecting the American people? Am I doing what’s necessary?”
Obama patted himself on the back for doing “a very good job” making policy decisions and keeping the American people safe over his years as president.
“I intend to continue to meet that responsibility or meet that duty, for as long as I have the privilege of holding this office,” he insisted.
Obama will announce his plan to combat the ISIS terror threat coming from Iraq and Syria Wednesday, and he told Todd that he will ask Congress to weigh in on his strategy.
