Fox contributor Charles Krauthammer declared on The Hugh Hewitt Show that President Obama is “clearly a narcissist,” pointing to the president's use of the words “I” and “my.” However, one example he provided is inaccurate while another was also used by Obama's predecessor, President George W. Bush.
Krauthammer Distorts Obama's Words To Declare Him A Napoleonic “Narcissist”
Written by Chance Seales
Published
Krauthammer On President's Use Of “My”: “Obama Is Clearly A Narcissist”
Krauthammer: Obama Is An “Extremely Self-Involved” Narcissist Who “Talks Like The Emperor, Napoleon.” On the September 15 edition of Salem Radio's The Hugh Hewitt Show, Krauthammer, a non-practicing psychiatrist, called Obama a “narcissist” who “lives in a cocoon surrounded by sycophants ... he's the master of the universe, so there is nobody around him. He is impervious to outside advice”:
KRAUTHAMMER: This is all because, I mean, count the number of times he uses the word I in any speech, and compare that to any other president. Remember when he announced the killing of bin Laden? That speech I believe had 29 references to I - on my command, I ordered, as commander-in-chief, I was then told, I this. You'd think he'd pulled the trigger out there in Abbottabad. You know, this is a guy, you look at every one of his speeches, even the way he introduces high officials - I'd like to introduce my secretary of State. He once referred to 'my intelligence community'. And in one speech, I no longer remember it, 'my military'. For God's sake, he talks like the emperor, Napoleon. [The Hugh Hewitt Show, 9/15/14]
Krauthammer's Attack Echoes Conservative Media Claims Of Obama Exploiting Achievement Of Bin Laden's Death Based On A Misquote
National Interest: Controversy Over Whether Obama Is Exploiting Achievement Of Bin Laden's Death Misconstrues Actual Quote. Conservative magazine The National Interest explains that controversy over “whether Obama is taking too much credit for the raid that killed Bin Laden, with pundits accusing him of '[exploiting] the bragging rights to the achievement,” is based on a misquote of President Obama's speech during which he actually praised “painstaking work by our intelligence community.” [National Interest, 5/1/12]
Obama Thanked “Our Intelligence Community,” Not “My Intelligence Community,” Announcing Bin Laden's Death
Announcing Bin Laden's Death, Obama Thanked “Our Intelligence Community.” When President Obama announced the outcome of the mission that killed Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011, he twice praised America's intelligence community for their “painstaking work” and “pursuit of justice.” Contrary to Krauthammer's claim, Obama did not say “my intelligence community”:
OBAMA: Then, last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden.
[...]
Tonight, we give thanks to the countless intelligence and counterterrorism professionals who've worked tirelessly to achieve this outcome. The American people do not see their work, nor know their names. But tonight, they feel the satisfaction of their work and the result of their pursuit of justice. [White House, 5/2/11]
President George W. Bush Referred To “My Military”
Bush: Rumsfeld Transformed “My Military” To Fight Terrorism. In a 2005 interview with Fox News' Brit Hume, President George W. Bush lauded the efforts of then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, whom he credited with transforming “my military” into a terror-fighting operation:
HUME: Secretary Rumsfeld, how does he stand with you?
BUSH: Good. He's done a heck of a job. He's conducted two wars, and at the same time is out to transfer my military from a military that was constructed for the post-Cold War to one that is going to be constructed to fight terrorism. [Fox News, Special Report with Brit Hume, 12/14/05]