In the past, outlets such as Fox News have criticized the President for an apparent lack of respect for Christianity. However, earlier this week many of them had to pull a complete reversal when President Obama quoted the Bible in his address to the nation concerning his executive action on immigration reform. Speaking in Las Vegas on Friday, the President quoted Exodus 23:9 with, “Scripture tells us that we shall not oppress a stranger, for we know the heart of a stranger — we were strangers once, too.
My fellow Americans, we are and always will be a nation of immigrants. We were strangers once, too.” Not to let any opportunity pass them by, conservatives immediately jumped on the remarks. “This is the Christian Left at work, and it’s repugnant,” stated Tucker Carlson while also saying that quote scripture is “totally out of bounds” (sounds odd coming from the right, doesn’t it?).
Fox and Friends’ Elisabeth Hasselbeck chimed in with, calling Obama’s use a scripture alongside immigration reform as, “the audacity of nope.” It’s a bit of a quagmire with conservatives. Tune into Fox News for any amount of time and you’re likely to see someone saying that President Obama is hurting our religious rights.
Then, at the moment he quotes the very Bible which pundits claim he is disrespecting, the same groups are leaping to the air with their hands raised in protest. It seems to be a continued tradition from right-wing outlets, of feeling a certain way until the President feels that way himself.