President Obama gave a lengthy interview to Fox News Sunday today. As I predicted, there were plenty of questions about Hillary Clinton’s emails Then, even after President Obama answered the questions, Wallace spent more time on them during the panel discussion immediately following.
Obama was presidential and measured but he seemed to know what he was dealing with and he threw a few jabs Fox News’ way. For example, when host Chris Wallace asked Obama if he feels any “responsibility” for the “anger” that is fueling the Trump and Sanders campaigns, Obama cited Fox News as one reason:
OBAMA: Number one, we’re still shell-shocked from what happened in 2007, 2008.
We’ve now had more than six years straight of job growth, and cut the unemployment rate down to 5 percent. But, people lost homes, lost jobs, lost life savings. And they still don’t fully know how that happened, and was the system fixed in a way that they can have confidence in.
[…]
Well, the perception is going to be changing over time, as people see results, as they get more confident.
But, and this is the big but, nobody’s going to be 100 percent satisfied—in a democracy like ours—with every outcome. And I think the danger, both among Republicans, and among Democrats, who increasingly just listen to each other. Or they just listen to people who already agree with them. Republicans, they have their own TV station. Their own radio—
Interestingly, Wallace didn’t even try to argue the “Fox News is fair and balanced” canard. He said, pointedly, “Go ahead. You can say Fox News.”
Later, Wallace refused to believe Obama when he repeatedly said that he would not interfere with any FBI or Justice Department investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails, which he also described as a matter of carelessness more than criminality.
I counted five times that Obama said he guarantees there would be no political involvement in Clinton’s or any other case. Until, finally, there was this:
OBAMA: Guaranteed. Full stop. Nobody gets treated differently when it comes to the Justice Department, because nobody is above the law.
WALLACE: Even if she ends up as the Democratic nominee?
OBAMA: How many times do I have to say it, Chris? Guaranteed.
Wallace changed the subject.
Immediately after the first part of the interview, Wallace went to a panel discussion where they tore into, guess what? The emails. Check out how he deliberately elicited criticism from his guests:
Speaking to Republican operative Karl Rove:
WALLACE: Karl, I want to start with the president’s comments about Hillary Clinton. I got to say, I was surprised that he even got into this given the investigation. But he wanted to basically to defend her again against the allegation that she somehow jeopardized national security with her private emails, her private e-mail server. And at the same time, he said this investigation by the FBI, the position by the justice department will be made on legal grounds, not political.
Do you see a contradiction there?
Of course, Rove didn’t hesitate to use the opportunity to rip into Obama.
Then, despite President Obama’s repeated assurances, Wallace suggested one more time that Clinton would get off because of political interference. This was Wallace’s next question, to Bob Woodward:
WALLACE: We asked you for questions for the panel and we got a bunch of questions like this one from Michelle Silvey who writes on Facebook, “It’s a pointless conversation since we all know the Justice Department, Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Obama will continue to protect her as long as she continues to promote his agenda and refuses to criticize him.”
Bob, really two questions—how do you answer Michelle? And what do you think of the president weighing in on this case while the FBI is still investigating?
Watch the two Fox News Sunday segments with Obama, below. Underneath is an excerpt from the panel discussion, via Media Matters.