The comments, coming as anti-Semitism is on the rise in Europe and elsewhere, gave Republicans ammunition that Obama is out of touch with the threats facing the nation — an issue they plan to highlight in their pitch for the White House in 2016.
President Barack Obama made the comments in an interview with Vox published Monday, acknowledging that it’s “entirely legitimate for the American people to be deeply concerned when you’ve got a bunch of violent, vicious zealots who behead people or randomly shoot a bunch of folks in a deli in Paris.”
The referenced attack was committed by a man claiming allegiance to ISIS at a Kosher deli in early January. The man killed four Jews and took over a dozen others in the deli hostage, and said in an interview with BFM-TV he wanted to defend Palestinians and target Jews, according to Reuters.
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Perry noted that anti-Semitism is on the rise throughout Europe, and argued Obama had “failed” in not acknowledging the problem. It’s a critique similar to what other Republicans have said about Obama refusing to use the words “Islamic extremism” in addressing the threat posed by Islamic militants.
“While there is no easy solution to this terrible problem, our response must begin with acknowledging exactly what’s going on — and that is the test Mr. Obama failed. It’s time to tell the truth,” Perry said.
