Fox's Ed Henry Grills Earnest Over ID'ing Christian, Muslim Victims

Fox News White House Correspondent Ed Henry grilled White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest on Wednesday over the difference in identification of Christian and Muslim victims recently in the news.

Henry noted that a statement attributed to Earnest on Sunday identified the 21 men who were beheaded by the Islamic State (ISIS) only as "Egyptian citizens." An ISIS video showing the executions specifically stated the men were killed because they are Christians.

Meanwhile, just days earlier, President Barack Obama himself issued a statement on the three Muslim college students shot to death in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

In that statement, the president said, "No one in the United States of America should ever be targeted because of who they are, what they look like or how they worship."

But that case is still being investigated, and it is not clear that the three were killed because of their religion, Henry pointed out.

"Why was their Muslim faith relevant in that statement?" Henry asked.

Earnest responded that the statement was intended to be a general sentiment that people should not be targeted for any reason.

"Why didn't you mention it was 21 Christians killed by Muslims? Is that relevant?" Henry asked.

"It sure is," Earnest responded, "because the [Islamic State] extremists that carried out this attack indicated that the reason they were killing them wasn't just because they were Egyptian, but also because they were Christian."

"Then why weren't you clear on that? Why didn't you say 21 Christians were killed?" Henry pressed.

"I've tried to be clear here," Earnest responded. "I can't account for that specific line in the statement."

Related Stories:

• Franklin Graham: Christians Are Persecuted at Home and Abroad
  
• Kerry: Don't Blame Islam for Violent Extremism