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WashPost: 4 'Pinocchios' for Spin of Obama's ISIS 'JV' Comment

WashPost: 4 'Pinocchios' for Spin of Obama's ISIS 'JV' Comment
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

By    |   Wednesday, 03 September 2014 11:41 AM EDT

The Washington Post has slammed the White House for its explanation of President Barack Obama's quip comparing ISIS to a "JV" sports team, after spokesman Josh Earnest claimed the president was not referring specifically to the extremist group.

The Post's fact checker, Glenn Kessler, has awarded the White House four Pinocchios for its "misleading" explanation.

"With the passage of eight months, the president’s 'JV' comment looks increasingly untenable, so we can understand why the White House spokesman would try to suggest that what is now known as the Islamic State was not the subject of the conversation," Kessler said.

Kessler added that Earnest selectively quoted portions from the interview Obama gave on the subject.

"He failed to provide the context in which Obama made his remarks — the takeover of Fallujah by ISIS. That's fairly misleading. The interviewer was certainly asking about ISIS when Obama answered with his 'JV' remarks."

The White House's interpretation of Obama's comments comes amid news that the president had been receiving daily briefings for a year about the emerging threat the group formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) posed before it began its offensive this summer.

"What makes Obama's 'JV' comment all the more troubling in hindsight is that we now know the president was warned about the ISIS threat more than a year ago — months before he made the dismissive 'JV' comment," Breitbart said.

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The Washington Post has slammed the White House for its explanation of President Barack Obama's quip comparing ISIS to a "JV" sports team, after spokesman Josh Earnest claimed the president was not referring specifically to the extremist group.
Obama, ISIS, JV, Washington Post
234
2014-41-03
Wednesday, 03 September 2014 11:41 AM
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