Obama Tells Comedian: Ferguson Situation Is 'Worthy of Protest'
March 13, 2015 - 5:31 AM
By Susan Jones
(CNSNews.com) - A full day after two policemen were shot and seriously wounded in Ferguson, Missouri -- and even as police continued hunting for the suspect -- President Obama gave his first public comments on the matter to a comedian.
The president of the United States, appearing on Jimmy Kimmel's show in Los Angeles, said, "What had been happening in Ferguson was oppressive and objectionable and was worthy of protest. But there was no excuse for criminal acts.
"And whoever fired those shots shouldn't detract from the issue. They're criminals. They need to be arrested.
"And then what we need to do is to make sure that like-minded, good-spirited people on both sides -- law enforcement, who have a terrifically tough job, and people who understandably don't want to be stopped and harassed just because of their race -- that we're able to work together to try to come up with some good answers."
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Earlier in the day, Obama tweeted that "violence against police is unacceptable." He said his prayers were with the seriously wounded police officers in Missouri. "Path to justice is one all of us must travel together," he tweeted (or some staffer tweeted under his initials).
Obama told Kimmel on Thursday: "You can't generalize about police officers, who do an extraordinarily tough job. Overwhelmingly, they do it professionally. You can't generalize about protesters, who it turns out had some very legitimate grievances, the Justice department report showed that they were being stopped...."
As part of his appearance on Kimmel's show, Obama also engaged in some comedy himself, reading "mean tweets" -- some of the mean things that people say about him:
"Obama's hair is looking grayer these days. Can't imagine why, since he doesn't seem to be one bit worried about all that's going on," the president read.
"Is there any way that we could fly Obama to some golf course halfway around the world and just leave him there?" the president read. ("I think that's a great idea," he responded.)
He liked the tweet that read, "How do you make Obama's eyes light up? Shine a flashlight in his ears." (Laughs) "That's pretty good," Obama said.
In addition to the "mean tweets," there was also an awkward exchange between the president and the comedian mocking Obama's high-waisted jeans.
Kimmel introduced Obama as the "first Kenyan-born Muslim Socialist ever elected president." After taping the show, Obama went on to a Democratic fund-raiser.
'Damn punk'
Back in Washington, Attorney General Eric Holder said what happened in Ferguson "was a pure ambush" that "really kind of turned my stomach."
Holder called the shooter -- still at large -- "a damn punk -- a punk who was trying to sow discord in an area that is trying to get its act together."
Holder hailed "good faith steps" being taken in Ferguson to move the city's leadership "in a new, more cooperative direction." The white police chief resigned on Wednesday, the latest public official to step down.
"But make no mistake, we still have, you know, we still have a long way to go to bringing about the systemic change that is needed and that is long overdue in that area," Holder said.
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