The following post first appeared on FactCheck.org.
Mike Huckabee made a number of twisted claims about President Obama’s recent reference to the Crusades and the Inquisition at the National Prayer Breakfast.
In an appearance on Fox News on Feb. 9, the former Arkansas governor and 2016 Republican presidential prospect said the president’s statement was “nothing short of shocking,” and added that Obama was against Christians, against Jews in Israel, and that Muslims are the “one group of people that can know they have his undying, unfailing support.”
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As for Jews in Israel, most don’t share Huckabee’s view of Obama. The most recent recent Pew Global Attitudes Project survey from last spring found 71 percent of Israelis had either “some” or “a lot” of confidence that Obama would “do the right thing regarding world affairs.”
Furthermore, the same poll showed that most people in several Muslim countries don’t reflect Huckabee’s opinion about support for Obama, either. In Egypt, only 19 percent had any confidence that Obama would do right. In Tunisia it was 27 percent, in Turkey 24 percent, in the Palestinian territories 22 percent, and in Pakistan it was just 7 percent.
Opinions are one thing, even if poorly supported by facts. But bearing false witness about another person’s own words is another. Rev. Huckabee could do better.
