Obama downplays importance of fighting ISIS

In a recent interview with NPR, President Obama responded to criticism he'd received for failing to adequately explain his strategy to defeat the Islamic State. Instead of offering a better explanation in the interview, he continued to underestimate the growing jihadist movement.

"This is not an organization that can destroy the United States," Obama told NPR.

Filling in for Glenn on radio Monday, Buck Sexton reacted to the president's comments.

"He doesn't seem to understand that our great concern is really about the global jihad and radical Islam," Buck said. "It's even broader in scope than just the Islamic State."

He continued.

"We're not saying that the only threat is ISIS, and we're not saying that ISIS alone could take us out," Buck said. "We're saying that this global jihad is a very real problem. One that the administration still seems absolutely set on downplaying at every turn."

Listen to the segment or read the transcript below.

Below is a rush transcript of this segment, it might contain errors.

BUCK: Obama is not done yet. He's still got a whole bunch of things that he's planning to accomplish/inflict on the American people depending on which side you find yourself on.

He has said repeatedly, he has indicated many times that he will go after guns at some capacity through executive orders in his last year. He's in Hawaii for now. I'm sure the carbon footprint of all the various and sundry jets and the helicopter and the everything that has to go out to Hawaii for him, it's very small. It's very small. He's keeping that carbon footprint small. Because the planet is going to melt unless we all start riding bicycles everywhere. But Obama still has things he wants to do and plans on doing. Including closing Gitmo, which we can get into in just a minute.

But in case you were wondering, he still is able to throw some help to Hillary in the process too.

But first he wants -- let's talk about what Obama has got going on himself before we talk about how he's helping Hillary. He gave an interview described by the media as a wide-ranging interview. I'm sure the tone was professorial. "We're going to do a lot of stuff. It's going to be great. We're going to have gun control. It's going to be amazing."

But he spoke on a whole range of things on an NPR interview. And for one, he hit all the topics you can imagine. For one of them, he went into his strategy, such as it is, for defeating the Islamic State. He conceded -- he conceded that he had received, quote, legitimate criticism for failing to adequately explain his strategy.

Oh, I get it. This is, by the way -- in the Obama playbook, this is one of the go-tos. I mean, this is a favorite -- this is a favorite play. This is sort of the handoff. Right up the middle, you know, you can expect this one. This is standard Obama 101. When people think he's doing a bad job at something, it's because they don't understand enough what he's doing.

Oh, okay. Well, I'm glad we've established that. It's not that he's failing. It's not that the plan to degrade and destroy ISIS is now clearly not what is happening.

It's that he hasn't explained to us enough of what he's doing. If we only knew more. If we were more knowledgeable, we would be more knowledgeable about how awesome Obama is. Don't you see?

That's what this is meant to tell us. That we have had in just recent weeks alone, a major at least ISIS inspired, if not ISIS directed terrorist attack in the US, in Paris, that these things happen and that the president then turns around and looks at us and says, "Don't worry. I got this whole thing under control."

He says ISIS is not an existential threat. He think that this is clever. This is in-depth analysis. He also said this in the interview. He doesn't seem to understand that our great concern is really about the global jihad and radical Islam. It's even broader in scope than just the Islamic State. The Islamic State, however, is the most direct and obvious manifestation of that ideological religious, political totalitarian movement.

We're not saying that the only threat is ISIS. And we're not saying that ISIS alone could take us out. We're saying that this global jihad is a very real problem. One that the administration still seems absolutely set on downplaying at every turn.

Featured Image: U.S. President Barack Obama speaks to the media during his year end news conference in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House December 18, 2015 in Washington, DC. Later today, Obama will travel to San Bernardino, California to meet with families of the 14 victims of the recent mass shooting, before departing to Hawaii for Christmas vacation, returning January 3, 2016. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

COVID is back! Or that is what we’re being told anyway...

A recent spike in COVID cases has triggered the left's alarm bells, and the following institutions have begun to reinstate COVID-era mandates. You might want to avoid them if you enjoy breathing freely...

Do YOU think institutions should bring back COVID-era mandates if cases increase? Let us know your thoughts HERE.

Morris Brown College

Both of Upstate Medical's hospitals in Syracuse, New York

Corey Henry / Senior Staff Photographer | The Daily Orange

Auburn Community Hospital, New York

Kevin Rivoli / The Citizen | Auburn Pub

Lionsgate Studio

AaronP/Bauer-Griffin / Contributor | GETTY IMAGES

United Health Services in New York

Kaiser Permanente in California

Justin Sullivan / Staff | GETTY IMAGES

There was a time when both the Left and the Right agreed that parents have the final say in raising their children... Not anymore.

In the People's Republic of California, the STATE, not parents, will determine whether children should undergo transgender treatments. The California state legislature just passed a law that will require judges in child custody cases to consider whether parents support a child’s gender transition. According to the law, the state now thinks total affirmation is an integral part of a child’s “health, safety, and welfare.”

We are inching closer to a dystopia where the state, not the parents, have ultimate rights over their children, a history that people from former Soviet nations would feign repeating.

Glenn dove into the law AND MORE in this episode titled, "Parental Advisory: The EXPLICIT plot to control YOUR kids." To get all the research that went into this episode AND information on how YOU can fight back, enter your email address below:

If you didn't catch Wednesday night's Glenn TV special, be sure to check it out HERE!

The Biden admin has let in MORE illegal aliens than the populations of THESE 15 states

GUILLERMO ARIAS / Contributor | Getty Images

There are currently an estimated 16.8 MILLION illegal aliens residing in the United States as of June 2023, according to the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). This number is already 1.3 million higher than FAIR's January 2022 estimate of 15.5 million and a 2.3 million increase from its end-of-2020 estimate. Even Democrats like New York City's Mayor Adams Mayor Adams are waking up to what Conservatives have been warning for years: we are in a border CRISIS.

However, this isn't the same border crisis that Republicans were warning about back in 2010. In the first two years of the Biden administration alone, the illegal alien population increased by 16 PERCENT nationwide, imposing a whopping net cost of $150.6 BILLION PER YEAR on American taxpayers. That is nearly DOUBLE the total amount that the Biden administration has sent to Ukraine.

This isn't the same border crisis that Republicans were warning about back in 2010.

These large numbers often make it difficult to conceptualize the sheer impact of illegal immigration on the United States. To put it in perspective, we have listed ALL 15 states and the District of Colombia that have smaller populations than the 2.3 MILLION illegal immigrants, who have entered the U.S. under the Biden administration. That is more than the entire populations of Wyoming, Vermont, and South Dakota COMBINED—and the American taxpayers have to pay the price.

Here are all 16 states/districts that have FEWER people than the illegal immigrants who have entered the U.S. under the Biden administration.

1. New Mexico

Population: 2,110,011

2. Idaho

Population: 1,973,752

3. Nebraska

Population: 1,972,292

4. West Virginia

Population: 1,764,786

5. Hawaii

Population: 1,433,238

6. New Hampshire

Population: 1,402,957

7. Maine

Population: 1,393,442

8. Montana

Population: 1,139,507

9. Rhode Island

Population: 1,090,483

10. Delaware

Population: 1,031,985

11. South Dakota

Population: 923,484

12. North Dakota

Population: 780,588

13. Alaska

Population: 732,984

14. Washington DC

Population: 674,815

15. Vermont

Population: 647,156

16. Wyoming

Population: 583,279

POLL: Should the Government control the future of AI?

The Washington Post / Contributor | Getty Images

Earlier this week, tech titans, lawmakers, and union leaders met on Capitol Hill to discuss the future of AI regulation. The three-hour meeting boasted an impressive roster of tech leaders including, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and others, along with more than 60 US Senators.

Tech Titans and Senators gathered in the Kennedy Caucus Room.The Washington Post / Contributor | Getty Images

The meeting was closed to the public, so what was exactly discussed is unknown. However, what we do know is that a majority of the CEOs support AI regulation, the most vocal of which is Elon Musk. During the meeting, Musk called AI "a double-edged sword" and strongly pushed for regulation in the interest of public safety.

A majority of the CEOs support AI regulation.

Many other related issues were discussed, including the disruption AI has caused to the job market. As Glenn has discussed on his program, the potential for AI to alter or destroy jobs is very real, and many have already felt the effects. From taxi drivers to Hollywood actors and writers, AI's presence can be felt everywhere and lawmakers are unsure how to respond.

The potential for AI to alter or destroy jobs is very real.

Ultimately, the meeting's conclusion was less than decisive, with several Senators making comments to the tune of "we need more time before we act." The White House is expected to release an executive order regarding AI regulation by the end of the year. But now it's YOUR turn to tell us what YOU think needs to be done!

Should A.I. be regulated?

Can the government be trusted with the power to regulate A.I.? 

Can Silicon Valley be trusted to regulate AI? 

Should AI development be slowed for safety, despite its potential advantages?

If a job can be done cheaper and better by AI, should it be taken away from a human?

Do you feel that your job is threatened by AI?