President Barack Obama is ignoring reality when he says the media is overplaying the threat of terrorism, former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge says.
"I think it's a tragic, delusional mindset, and basically, ignoring the reality of the world," Ridge said Monday on Fox News Channel's
"Your World with Neil Cavuto."
"I think the president is just wrong whether it's by design or not," Ridge said.
Obama's view of the world is not shared by most Americans, he said, adding that someone doesn’t have to be a member of the National Security Council to understand the horror of the Islamic State (ISIS) and the possibilities of future actions.
"I think the average citizen has a better point of view and a more thorough understanding of the challenges that this country is facing right now than perhaps our president does," he said.
Ridge admitted that another attack on the scale of 9/11 is a possibility, but said the more immediate threats are smaller lone-wolf attacks that are much harder to detect and prevent.
Ridge didn't save his criticism for Obama, also scolding his fellow Republicans for threatening to defund the Department of Homeland Security to punish Obama for his executive actions on immigration.
Though Republicans have said they are defunding only the portion of Homeland Security that would enforce Obama's orders, Ridge called it "political folly" and "politically insane" to take away part of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson's ability to operate his department.
"I'm saying, you created a spider web, and you can't get out of it yourself," Ridge said. "Give this man and give these men and women the tools that they need."
If Republicans want to argue about immigration they should send the president a fairly significant immigration bill that reflects their views and see how he responds, he said.
Former DHS secretaries Janet Napolitano and Michael Chertoff also have agreed with his assessment, Ridge noted.