Ryan to Obama: Poor communication isn’t the problem on ISIS

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Monday rejected President Obama’s contention that weak messaging on the part of his administration and media saturation are to blame for rising public fears about terrorism. 

“Let’s put aside for a moment that members of the president’s own party — from Sen. Dianne Feinstein to former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta — are questioning the president’s strategy,” Ryan’s office wrote Monday.

{mosads}”This isn’t the first time the president has stressed that the American people just don’t get it, blaming poor communication for America’s discontent rather than the failed policies themselves,” Ryan’s office added, linking to news reports. 

Obama suggested in an NPR interview released Monday that media were partly to blame for stoked terrorism fears from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), saying, “The media is pursuing ratings, this is a legitimate news story.

“I think it’s up to the media how they want to cover this,” Obama continued. “There is no doubt the actions of ISIL are designed to amplify their power and the threat that they pose,” he added, using an alternate acronym for ISIS.

Obama said there is “a legitimate criticism” that he and his administration have not fully explained the U.S. efforts to combat ISIS threats over the past year, as the U.S.-led coalition has carried out thousands of airstrikes.

The White House has stepped up its messaging on ISIS and terrorism in recent weeks, with Obama speaking on the issue last week after trips to the Pentagon and National Counterterrorism Center.

Ryan’s office argued Monday that the issue was not with “a communications plan” to defeat ISIS but rather over the need for a “comprehensive plan to destroy this enemy and protect our homeland.”