Fox News again distorts Obama's Strasbourg remarks, promotes "another apology tour"
SUMMARY: Fox News' Jon Scott asked if "the president's upcoming trip [to Europe and the Middle East will] be what conservatives might call another apology tour," and both Scott and co-host Jane Skinner aired cropped clips of President Obama's remarks from an April 3 speech in France to falsely suggest that Obama only criticized the United States.
During a June 2 segment on Fox News' Happening Now in which co-host Jon Scott asked if "the president's upcoming trip [to Europe and the Middle East will] be what conservatives might call another apology tour," both Scott and co-host Jane Skinner aired cropped clips of President Obama's remarks from an April 3 speech in Strasbourg, France, to falsely suggest that Obama only criticized the United States. In fact, during his speech, he also praised it and criticized European anti-Americanism. As Media Matters for America has documented, several Fox hosts and guests, as well as the Fox Nation website, have cropped or misrepresented Obama's Strasbourg remarks to falsely suggest, in the words of host Sean Hannity, that Obama was "blam[ing] America first" and, more broadly, that Obama's earlier overseas trip constituted an "apology tour."
Teasing Scott's segment, Skinner said: "President Obama is getting ready for a big trip overseas, a major policy speech in Egypt," and aired a cropped quote from Obama's Strasbourg speech:
OBAMA: There is plenty of blame to go around for what has happened. The United States certainly shares its, shares blame for what has happened.
She then asserted: "Sharing blame -- some are asking if the president's trip this week will be an apology tour." On-screen text during Skinner's remarks advanced the "apology tour" smear:
Minutes later, Scott similarly noted Obama's upcoming overseas trip, and aired a different cropped quote from his Strasbourg speech:
OBAMA: In America there is a failure to appreciate Europe's leading role in the world. Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive.
Scott then asked guest Heather Hurlburt, former speechwriter for Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Warren Christopher: "[W]hen the president speaks about American arrogance, that might play well overseas, but how does it play in this country?" Scott also asked Hurlburt, "[Y]ou think that that kind of talk is a positive?" During the interview, on-screen text again advanced the "apology tour" smear:
Another on-screen graphic, dubbed a "FOXfact," highlighted Obama's "arrogance" remark:
However, at no point did either Scott or Skinner note that Obama also criticized Europe and praised America during his Strasbourg remarks. Indeed, immediately after the part of the speech Scott aired, Obama criticized anti-Americanism in Europe as well as Europeans who "choose to blame America for much of what's bad" and referred to "the good that America so often does in the world."
From Obama's April 3 speech in Strasbourg:
Now, there's plenty of blame to go around for what has happened, and the United States certainly shares its -- shares blame for what has happened. But every nation bears responsibility for what lies ahead, especially now, for whether it's the recession or climate change, or terrorism, or drug trafficking, poverty, or the proliferation of nuclear weapons, we have learned that without a doubt there's no quarter of the globe that can wall itself off from the threats of the 21st century.
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Such an effort is never easy. It's always harder to forge true partnerships and sturdy alliances than to act alone, or to wait for the action of somebody else. It's more difficult to break down walls of division than to simply allow our differences to build and our resentments to fester. So we must be honest with ourselves. In recent years we've allowed our Alliance to drift. I know that there have been honest disagreements over policy, but we also know that there's something more that has crept into our relationship. In America, there's a failure to appreciate Europe's leading role in the world. Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive.
But in Europe, there is an anti-Americanism that is at once casual but can also be insidious. Instead of recognizing the good that America so often does in the world, there have been times where Europeans choose to blame America for much of what's bad.
On both sides of the Atlantic, these attitudes have become all too common. They are not wise. They do not represent the truth. They threaten to widen the divide across the Atlantic and leave us both more isolated. They fail to acknowledge the fundamental truth that America cannot confront the challenges of this century alone, but that Europe cannot confront them without America.
So I've come to Europe this week to renew our partnership, one in which America listens and learns from our friends and allies, but where our friends and allies bear their share of the burden. Together, we must forge common solutions to our common problems.
So let me say this as clearly as I can: America is changing, but it cannot be America alone that changes. We are confronting the greatest economic crisis since World War II. The only way to confront this unprecedented crisis is through unprecedented coordination.
