Fox News' Jarrett falsely claimed Obama is making his "first trip to the Middle East"

During the July 19 edition of Fox News' America's Election HQ, anchor Gregg Jarrett falsely claimed that Sen. Barack Obama's overseas trip, which includes planned stops in Iraq, Israel, and Jordan, constituted his "first trip to the Middle East." In fact, as Media Matters for America has documented, Obama made a January 2006 Middle East trip that included stops in Iraq, Israel, and Jordan.

From the July 19 edition of Fox News' America's Election HQ:

JARRETT: All right, Inga, let me begin with you. What are your listeners --

INGA BARKS (talk radio host): Hi, Gregg.

JARRETT: -- saying about Obama's first trip to the Middle East? Are they expecting sort of the usual political spin that you get from politicians?

BARKS: Semantics, semantics, semantics. No matter how this turns out, Gregg, if -- he's going to say -- he's going to spin it to say that there's -- that it is consistent with his original policy.

JARRETT: Yeah. Joe --

BARKS: Right. I mean, no matter what they say it's going to be consistent with whatever he originally said. He was right all along.

JARRETT: Well, but you know what? Maybe some of it is. Because, Joe, [Iraq Prime Minister] Nouri al-Maliki, today --

JOE MADISON (talk radio host): That's right.

JARRETT: -- calling Obama's 16-month withdrawal plan, quote, "the right timeframe for withdrawal." So, I mean, look --

MADISON: With -- with -- yeah.

BARKS: Yeah.

JARRETT: -- do your listeners think this trip --

MADISON: No.

JARRETT: -- may actually dispel concerns that he's not ready to be commander in chief? What do you think, Joe?

—G.L.