Fox News' John Gibson's “interpretation” of Clinton comment: “Hillary makes a deal with Al Qaeda”

Written by Andrew Walzer

Published

Fox News' John Gibson stated that it “appears” a comment Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton made at an August 23 campaign event about the potential consequences of another terrorist attack “was sending this signal, as they say, to Al Qaeda, that it would, it would not be smart to attack the United States of America before the election.” Gibson went on to assert that “Hillary makes a deal with Al Qaeda.”

On the August 24 broadcast of his Fox News Radio show, John Gibson -- purporting to do “a little interpretation” of a comment Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) made at an August 23 campaign event about the potential consequences of another terrorist attack -- said: "[S]o it appears she was sending this signal, as they say, to Al Qaeda, that it would, it would not be smart to attack the United States of America before the election. Otherwise you're going to get another Bush militarist in there, and he's gonna bomb your cities, and kill your kids and your women. So lay off 'til I'm president, and I'll go easy. ... Hillary makes a deal with Al Qaeda. ... Did she go too far this time? I know it's a deniable quote -- 'Well, that isn't what I meant' -- but we all get her drift. And I'm sure Mr. Al Qaeda, wherever he is, got it too."

Gibson claimed that Clinton said “that it would be a terrible thing if Al Qaeda were to attack again now, because that would benefit the Republicans.” According to the Associated Press, Clinton actually said:

“It's a horrible prospect to ask yourself 'What if? What if?' But if certain things happen between now and the election, particularly with respect to terrorism, that will automatically give the Republicans an advantage again, no matter how badly they have mishandled it, no matter how much more dangerous they have made the world. ... So I think I'm the best of the Democrats to deal with that as well.”

As Media Matters for America has noted, Gibson's Fox News colleague Neil Cavuto similarly ignored Clinton's criticism of Republicans' when he asked whether Clinton “knows in her heart of hearts Republicans are tougher on terror” during the August 24 edition of Fox News' Your World.

From the August 24 broadcast of Fox News Radio's The John Gibson Show:

GIBSON: The real subject here is Hillary Clinton. She said -- 888-788-9910 -- that it would be a terrible thing if Al Qaeda were to attack again now, because that would benefit the Republicans. Was she saying to Al Qaeda, “Don't attack the United States until after the election, because otherwise you're going to get more of George Bush”?

CLINTON [audio clip]: “It wasn't as dramatic as it sounds.”

GIBSON: Well, I realize I'm doing a little interpretation here, but what she actually said was it'll be a terrible thing if there was a terror attack, a terrible thing for her campaign, uh, because a terror attack would help the Republicans. Al Qaeda hates Bush, hates the Republicans, so it appears she was sending this signal, as they say, to Al Qaeda, that it would, it would not be smart to attack the United States of America before the election. Otherwise you're going to get another Bush militarist in there, and he's gonna bomb your cities, and kill your kids and your women. So lay off 'til I'm president, and I'll go easier. 888-788-9910. Hillary makes a deal with Al Qaeda. 888-788-9910. Did she go too far this time? I know it's a deniable quote -- “Well, that isn't what I meant” -- but we all get her drift. And I'm sure Mr. Al Qaeda, wherever he is, got it too.

A.J. Walzer is an intern at Media Matters for America.