Conservative commentator Pat Buchanan called into question the “mindset” of President Obama following his remarks chiding anti-refugee politicians as being “scared of widows and 3-year-old orphans.”
In an interview on Newsmax TV, Buchanan criticized the president for his remarks lashing out at Republicans who called for barring Syrian refugees in the United States.
“He didn’t really show what he should have shown, which was American leadership in the time of a real crisis for our ally in France,” Buchanan told The Steve Malzberg Show. “He really seems to be letting Republican criticism get to him.
“The president has not handled this at all well, there’s no question about it. This was a massacre, a perpetrated massacre, the largest hit on France militarily, lost more casualties than any single incident since World War II. He’s focusing on the Republican Party—and he’s calling it a setback in the war on terror. You have to ask yourself about the mindset of the president right now.”
Buchanan’s remarks followed comments Obama made in the Philippines on Wednesday at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit. At the summit, Obama make veiled references to GOP candidates who have called for closing the nation’s borders to refugees.
“These are the same folks oftentimes that say they’re so tough that just talking to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin or staring down ISIL (ISIS) or using some additional rhetoric will solve the problem—and they’re scared of widows and 3-year-old orphans,” Obama said.
Meanwhile, a growing number of mostly Republican governors have called for shutting down their states to Syrian refugees.
Obama said intelligence agencies vet the refugees coming to the U.S. for up to two years prior to their entrance into the U.S.
“We are not well-served when, in response to a terrorist attack, we descend into fear and panic,” Obama said. “We don’t make good decisions if they’re based on hysteria or an exaggeration of risks.”
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