President Barack Obama has been criticized for not using the terms "Islamic" or "Muslim" to describe the Islamic State (ISIS) or other terrorist groups, but he has one defender using expletives to get the point across.
James Zogby, founder of the Arab American Institute, was discussing the issue Thursday on
CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront" when the host pointed out a New York Post cover showing Obama wearing a blindfold with the caption, "Islamic terror? I just don't see it."
"I don't read the New York Post, and I advise, actually, against reading it," Zogby said. He said he also doesn’t' listen to Arizona Sen. John McCain, who is a critic of Obama on the issue.
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"I think the president threaded the needle perfectly," Zogby said. "He called ISIS exactly what it is. It's an ugly movement. It's an evil movement. It's got to be stopped."
But, Zogby said, Obama's Wednesday speech at an anti-extremism summit denied ISIS the ability to claim the United States is fighting ISIS because it represents Islam.
"They do not represent Islam," Zogby said. "We have, in the coalition, partners who do represent Islam in a far more authentic way. So why give them the argument they wanted to claim, which is the pretense that we're the caliphate, that we represent all Muslims. Quite frankly speaking, that's [expletive]."
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