Giuliani’s criticism on Sunday shows falls along party lines

Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (R) sparked criticism by saying President Obama doesn’t love America, but the critique during this weekend’s Sunday talk shows largely fell along party lines.

Republican Rep. Darrell Issa (Calif.) downplayed Giuliani’s remarks on CNN’s “State of the Union” by saying that Obama called former President George W. Bush unpatriotic for adding to the debt. He added that Vice President Joe Biden should face similar backlash every time he makes a “flippant” comment.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) weighed in on the issue on “Fox News Sunday” and said the former New York mayor was just frustrated at Obama for not being willing “to call Islamic extremism for what it is.”

{mosads}Pence admitted it doesn’t help to question the president’s patriotism, but insisted that Giuliani is a “great American.”

Democrats took a much more aggressive stance on the Sunday talk shows, including a former top Obama advisor, who said he was confused why Obama’s love for the country would even be an issue.

David Axelrod, who was Obama’s senior advisor from 2009-2011, asserted that Obama’s love for his country is obvious.

“I don’t know why there is confusion,” Axelrod said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “I think that there is a nuance and there is an ability to see gray, which is really important in the world in which we live, that is true on foreign policy and national security it its also true on domestic policy. [Obama] thinks several steps ahead.”

Jeh Johnson, a member of Obama’s Cabinet as secretary of Homeland Security, said Giuliani’s comments were “regrettable.”

“I’m sorry to see statements like that coming from the former mayor whose response to 9/11 in 2001 I admired very much,” Johnson said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

– Peter Sullivan and Mario Trujillo contributed to this report