White House Spox Stumbles to Answer Whether Taliban a ‘Terrorist’ Group

During Wednesday afternoon’s White House press conference, ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl cornered Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz over why the administration does not consider the Taliban to be a “terrorist” organization.

In light of a possible Jordanian prisoner swap with ISIS forces, Karl asked Schultz how that government’s actions differ from the United States’ 2014 release of Gitmo prisoners to the Taliban in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.

When the spokesman suggested the Taliban is just an “armed insurgency,” and not a “terrorist organization” like ISIS, Karl pounced: “You don’t think the Taliban’s a terrorist group?”

In the clip first flagged by the GOP’s “Rapid Response” team, Schultz struggled to answer, clearly trying to recall administration talking points on the subject: “I don’t think that the Taliban, um… uh — the Taliban is an armed insurgency, this was the winding down of the war in Afghanistan and that’s why this arrangement was dealt.”

Watch the exchange below, via WH.gov:

— —

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!