Press Secretary Josh Earnest said today that the White House should have sent a more senior administration official to yesterday’s rally in Paris, but a lack of security preparation time was the main reason the president could not attend.
According to The Hill:
“It’s fair to say we should have sent someone with a higher profile to be there,” Earnest told reporters at the White House.
“Had the circumstances been a little bit different, I think the president himself would have liked to be there,” Earnest added.
The White House said planning for the march had begun only 36 hours before the event, and that the security required for the president to visit would have been “onerous and significant.”
Republican critics are trying to have it both way with their criticism of the president for not attending the Paris rally. The same members of Congress and media figures who are criticizing the president today have criticized Obama in the past for what they considered the high cost for his travel and security. The White House reaction to the criticism has been honest and fair. The administration should have sent a senior official. A presidential security plan for an outdoor international event would have been virtually impossible to put together in 36 hours.
The safety of the president, especially when attending an anti-terrorism rally, must come first. That being said, the Paris event seems like something that Vice President would have been a perfect fit to attend. The administration did make a mistake by not at least sending Attorney General Holder, who was already in Paris, to the rally. As symbolic as the rally was, only 40 world leaders attended. The criticism that the president betrayed France that is being tossed around by Republicans is empty partisan rhetoric.
Most Americans would rather keep their president safe than jeopardize his safety by having him attend an event without adequate security preparation. President Obama’s record on counter-terrorism has been a complete reversal of the fear-based bumbling of the Bush years. The White House could have handled the public relations aspect of their decision not to send the president to Paris better, but they made the right call if they felt there was not enough time to provide adequate security.
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