Friday at the White House daily press briefing, CBS Radio White House Correspondent Mark Knoller asked White House press secretary Josh Earnest if President Barack Obama was “pained” by every photo-op he does.
Knoller was referring the Obama’s answer to the criticism he received for his refusal to visit the border and witness first hand the humanitarian crisis of thousands of illegal immigrant children being held in detention facilities.
Earlier in the week at a impromptu press conference after his arrival in Texas, the Obama said, “This isn’t theater. This is a problem. I’m not interested in photo-ops; I’m interested in solving a problem. And those who say I should visit the border, when you ask them what should we be doing, they’re giving us suggestions that are embodied in legislation that I’ve already sent to Congress. So it’s not as if they’re making suggestions that we’re not listening to. In fact, the suggestions of those who work at the border, who visited the border, are incorporated in legislation that we’re already prepared to sign the minute it hits my desk.”
Knoller pressed Earnest asking, “Aren’t photo ops the life blood of presidential public relations?”
Earnest agreed “presidential appearances send important messages” about the presidents priorities he still insisted Obama going to the border would be prioritize photo ops instead of solutions.
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