Wallace Grills McDonough: If Obama Loses Syria Vote, ‘Doesn’t He Become Lame Duck the Next Day?’

On Fox News Sunday, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough defended President Barack Obama’s attempts to persuade a skeptical Congress to approve military intervention into the Syrian civil war, and host Chris Wallace asked him point blank if a failure to garner authorization would cripple Obama’s second term.

“If at the end of this process the president loses, doesn’t he become a lame duck the next day?” Wallace asked.

“Whatever the political ramifications of this debate are, are something that maybe somebody else here or you guys will debate or somebody else will resolve,” McDonough replied. “We’re approaching this question simply for the national security implications that it entails.”

“You don’t think it will have an impact on the president’s ability over the three years as he pushes his agenda, as he faces a fight over the budget, as he faces a fight over the debt limit?” Wallace pressed. “Don’t you think a defeat here is going to really endanger his presidency?”

“What endangers our national security today is one of the world’s largest chemical weapons stockpiles in Syria,” McDonough said. “That’s the issue here. The politics is somebody else’s concern. The president’s not interested in the politics of this.”

Watch the full clip below, via Fox News:

[Image via screengrab]

——
>> Follow Evan McMurry (@evanmcmurry) on Twitter

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!