‘O’ Snap: Jay Carney Responds To Limbaugh’s Kardashian Quip With Two Words
On his nationally syndicated radio show yesterday, conservative radio giant Rush Limbaugh attacked recent Obama campaign ads featuring actress Sarah Jessica Parker and Vogue Magazine Editor Anna Wintour by saying the President is becoming “Barack Hussein Kardashian.”
During a press gaggle aboard Air Force One en route to California today, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney responded to the swipe with six words, which were “Two words — Donald Trump. Next question.”
Transcript (via The White House)
Q Can I ask you about the California fundraisers, in particular? The President is getting a lot of heat over cavorting with showbiz types. Rush Limbaugh is referring to him as Barack Kardashian, can you believe. What is your response to that? (Laughter.)
MR. CARNEY: Two words — Donald Trump. Next question.
Carney went into a bit more detail later in the gaggle, when Reuters’ Caren Bohan asked “does the President worry at all that by spending a lot of time with celebrities and at these glitzy fundraisers that it sends the wrong message at a time of economic distress?”
” Caren,” Carney said, “you should know — and I know you do — better than anyone — and I am making this observation as someone who just consumes the news — that the difference between President Obama’s support, financial support and his opponent’s is stark, but not in the way that you describe.”
“The fundamental difference,” he continued, “is President Obama has vast numbers of small donors who support his campaign.”
“That is not the case for the Republican nominee,” Carney added. “And I think that the fact that the President enjoys that kind of support speaks to what his policy priorities are. He’s out there fighting for the middle class. He’s out there fighting to protect the middle class and help it expand, to create an economic foundation that will allow the middle class to thrive, as opposed to the situation the middle class experienced in the first decade of this century under the previous President where average incomes for the middle class stagnated or declined while average incomes for the wealthiest Americans increased dramatically.”
“The President is happy to have the support that he has,” he concluded, “but the bedrock foundation of his support are the millions and millions of Americans who believe in his vision for this country’s future and believe that he has their backs.”
Unfortunately for Democrats, elections aren’t won on the basis of which side has the best celebrities. If they were, Bill Clinton would be campaigning for his fifth term, and the highest-ranking Republican in the country would be Vice Dog-Catcher Scott Baio.
Carney opened the gaggle with a farewell to Bohan, who is headed to National Journal as Managing Editor for Domestic Policy in July. “Welcome aboard Air Force One on what appears to be Caren Bohan’s final trip as a White House correspondent for Reuters,” Carney said. “We will miss you.”
This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.
