The Washington Post gives Obama administration 4 'Pinocchios' for backtracking on 'JV' comment

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest earned four "Pinocchios" from The Washington Post's fact-checker for trying to explain away President Obama's statement comparing ISIS to a "JV team."

An interviewer at the White House press conference asked Earnest if Obama "underestimated ISIS when he referred to them as a JV squad" a couple months ago. Earnest responded by attempting to put the president's words "in context," and clarified Obama "was not singling out" ISIS, but "was talking about the very different threat that is posed by a range of extremists around the globe."

Glenn Kessler, the Washington Post writer who examined the comments and ultimately awarded Earnest with the Post's highest ranking for a lie, did so because the spokesman "provided a selective reading of the discussion, [and] failed to provide the context in which Obama made his remarks — the takeover of Fallujah by ISIS."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"That's fairly misleading," Kessler continued. "The interviewer was certainly asking about ISIS when Obama answered with his 'JV' remarks."