CNBC Host Says Obama Sullied Office With 'Ass to Kick' Line

Becky Quick slapped Obama for using unpresidential language

June 8, 2010 RSS Feed Print
  • Comment (849)

Not everybody was pleased with President Obama's uncharacteristic line on the Today Show, spoken in the pre-school hours Tuesday morning, that he wants some "ass to kick" in the Gulf oil crisis.

Becky Quick, who co-hosts Squawk Box with lead anchor Joe Kernen and co-host Carl Quintanilla, slapped Obama for using unpresidential language in an interview he knew would be aired as children prepared for school.

"If you're the president of the United States and you go on the Today Show which is a morning show, where you're going to have a lot of kids sitting around watching this, I think you choose your words more carefully," said Quick. "Using the A word when you are on the Today Show talking with Matt Lauer, yeah, that disturbs me. But I also think that this is a way of trying to prove that I'm mad, to do exactly what everybody's been pushing me to do, and it doesn't ring true."

Obama has been under pressure in the media and even among his friends, notably film director Spike Lee, to air more passion when addressing the oil crisis. But Quick, who said she likes the president, said he sullied the office on the Today Show.

"When you are the president of the United States, you should speak of the office and there are events and time and places where maybe you get fired up about things. It sounded like he was using this to try and prove that he was mad and I think that's silly," she added.

"You can point to people who say these things all the time, we've used these words, but again, if you're the president of the United States and you are on the Today Show I would expect a different choice of words," she said.

Watch the segment here.

Tags:
CNBC,
Barack Obama

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Obama IS an ass.

Can't wait to get our Country back 2012.

Debbie of CA 12:15PM April 06, 2011

get over it!!!1 ASSSSSS is not a terrible word, and im sure its not a word that is not said at home.... Almost everyone uses the word ASS even if its intentional or unintentional!!!! So relax OBAMA saying ASS is definately not the END OF THE WORLD!!!!! GET OVER IT!!!!!!!!

patty of CT 12:27PM November 21, 2010

Obama is so thin-skinned: he was just one-upping those who wanted to know whose butt he'd kick. If he worried more about setting a good example--at least with his speech--perhaps it would rub off on his actions, which seem merely defensive.

The worst action was deliberately contradicting what the experts he asked for recommendations came up with by his reaction to criticism. The experts' report pointed out that curtailing oil drilling could cause more harm than good, by causing more explosions. After they signed off, Obama/minions deleted that portion and added their own recommendation that oil drilling cease--without the report authors' knowledge. If he did something like that to me I'd see him in court.

Jill of CA 6:08PM June 13, 2010

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