James Foley's parents say they were "disappointed" when President Barack Obama hit the golf course just minutes after making a statement about the beheading of their son by Islamic State (ISIS) militants.
"We're just disappointed as Americans, that's all. We feel Americans should be important," Foley's mother told
Fox News Channel's "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren" in an interview aired Monday. "We think our country can do better . . . Jim thought we could, so we need to believe that we can."
A video of Foley's killing was posted online on Aug. 19 while Obama was vacationing on Martha's Vineyard. He spoke to the press about the killing, saying, "The entire world is appalled by the brutal murder of Jim Foley."
But he was photographed shortly thereafter
playing golf and smiling. Even his fellow Democrats said it didn't look appropriate.
Obama later acknowledged on
NBC's "Meet the Press" that the "theater" of the presidency is important and that he had failed to master it.