Pres. Obama: there is no magic to the phrase “radical Islam”

Two days after the deadly terrorist attack in Orlando, Florida, President Obama convened a meeting with his National Security Council as part of the administration’s “regular effort to review and intensify our campaign to destroy the terrorist group ISIL.” In remarks delivered by a “very pissed off Obama,” the president responded to on-going criticism by many Republicans on the administration’s decision to not use the words ‘radical Islam.’

“For a while now, the main contribution of some of my friends on the other side of the aisle have made in the fight against ISIL is to criticize the administration and me for not using the phrase ‘radical Islam,'” Obama told reporters. “That’s the key, they tell us. We cannot beat ISIL unless we call them radical Islamists.”

Obama took a subtle jab at his critics when he praised the members of the military and law enforcement who protect “all Americans — including politicians who tweet and appears on cable news shows.”

“There is no magic to the phrase ‘radical Islam,'” Obama continued. “It is a political talking point. It is not a strategy.”

Much of the speech seemed to be a direct response to recent tweets posted by the presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Obama did not mention Trump by name during his 25-minute speech at the Treasury Department, but he delivered the most forceful rebuttal to the proposed policies by the new leader of the Republican party.

“Do Republican officials actually agree with this?” Obama asked in reference to Trump’s proposal to ban all Muslims from entering the country.

“We have gone through moments in our history before when we acted out of fear, and we came to regret it,” Obama continued. “We have seen our government mistreat our fellow citizens, and it has been a shameful part of our history. This is a country founded on basic freedoms, including freedom of religion.”

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