Pence dodges on whether Obama is the ‘founder of ISIS’
NEW: @GovPenceIN defends Trump's false claim @POTUS is the "founder of ISIS." Didn't use that term himself. #9NEWS pic.twitter.com/dxPIFMJ1Kv
— Brandon Rittiman (@BrandonRittiman) August 11, 2016
Donald Trump’s running mate on Thursday defended the GOP nominee but declined to similarly call President Obama the “founder” of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
“The one thing about Donald Trump is he doesn’t go tip-toeing the rules, the semantic rules, of political correctness,” Mike Pence told Denver’s 9News.
{mosads}”Everybody in this country knows exactly what Donald Trump means, whether it be on that or other issues. He’s a plainspoken man,” Pence continued.
“On this issue, the point is clear: Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton’s policy in the wider Middle East has been a disaster,” Pence said.
Asked directly if he would personally call Obama the “founder of ISIS,” Pence responded, “There is no question that President Barack Obama’s policies in the wider Middle East created a vacuum of leadership in which ISIS was created.”
Pence reiterated his point on Trump’s remark when asked a third time whether he himself would use the words that Trump did.
Trump doubled down on his claim that Obama was the “founder of ISIS” when conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt tried to clarify the comment Thursday. Hewitt suggested Trump meant to say that Obama “created a vacuum” in the Middle East that led to ISIS.
“No, I meant that he’s the founder of ISIS,” Trump responded. “He was the most valuable player. I gave him the most valuable player award.”
Trump has lobbed similar attacks at Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee who served as Obama’s secretary of State until 2013. Clinton’s campaign slammed Trump over his comment on Thursday, tweeting bluntly, “No, Barack Obama is not the founder of ISIS.”
ISIS, which is currently led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, grew from the group known as al-Qaeda in Iraq , which was established in 2004 by Jordanian al-Qaeda operative Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, according to the National Counterterrorism Center.
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