On what may be his last excursion into “Fox Country,” chief White House spokesman Josh Earnest got a grilling from Fox News anchor Shepard Smith over President Barack Obama’s handling of ISIS terrorist activity in the Middle East.
When Earnest argued that the fight in Iraq against the terrorists is primarily that of the Iraqi military, Smith interrupted with, “Last time we gave Iraqi security forces weapons, they put them on the ground and gave them to ISIL, and now ISIL is trying to kill people with them.”
Smith expressed doubt that the Obama administration would ever enlist Saudi Arabia and Jordan into what Earnest described as a “broad international coalition” consisting primarily of “Muslim-led countries.”
“There will never be any commitment from those two. I will bet every penny that I ever make at this network” Smith said. He later added, “It is a big bet, and it’s a good bet, because it’s not gonna happen, and the whole world knows it.”
Smith then told Earnest he wasn’t being singled out simply because he represented the Obama administration:
When the Bush administration was doing this, these questions were asked from this desk and now that you are doing it, these are fair questions that deserve answers. We have a coalition of the Muslim world? I don’t see it.
No one from Saudi Arabia, no one from Jordan–it has its own problems, Turkey has its own problems. We are not getting help from any of those nations, and to suggest that these people, with great respect, from Syria, who are not organized, and the Pentagon says it will take a year to train, and the Iraqi army, which has already folded and given away the weapons, are going to come together and fight ISIL for us and with us seems like, as the president once put it, something of a fantasy.
Here’s the exchange, via The Washington Free Beacon. Story continues after video clip.
For those who witnessed the back-and-forth, it was time to pop some corn, pull up a chair and enjoy the show. They loved it, and said so on Twitter. Twitchy was only too happy to record them all, beginning with National Review Online editorial associate Andrew Johnson, who tweeted:
Shepard Smith just bet Josh Earnest “every penny I will ever make at this network” that Saudi Arabia, Jordan won’t lead anti-ISIS coalition
— Andrew Johnson (@AndrewE_Johnson) September 18, 2014
Then there were these:
Shepard Smith grilled Josh Earnest. He just kept repeating the Obama talking points. No real answers
— Clark Rosencrans (@clarkz71) September 18, 2014
.@ShepNewsTeam (Shepard Smith) became a pitbull to weenie WH Press Secty, Joshy Poo Earnest, re: ISIS http://t.co/M6UXYSmcB1
— LKVents (@LKVents) September 19, 2014
Check out more tweets compiled by the Twitchy team.
(h/t: The Washington Free Beacon)
