White House press secretary Josh Earnest called on Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown to apologize after the latter accused President Barack Obama of sexism in the way he criticized Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. (VIDEO: Democratic Senator Accuses Obama Of Sexism For Attacking Elizabeth Warren)
“One of the big stories involving the White House in the past 24 hours … is President Obama’s criticism of Sen. Elizabeth Warren on the trade deal, how he phrased it,” host Mika Brzezinski brought up during Earnest’s interview with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “There is one Democratic senator, Sherrod Brown, saying it’s a little disrespectful. Did the president perhaps overplay a bit? Would he have spoken about another senator this way?”
“Mika, I can give you all the references of the president referring to his former colleagues in the Senate by their first name,” Earnest responded. “The fact is, Sen. Warren actually used to work for the president here in the administration. So the president has a personal relationship with Sen. Warren. It’s not surprising he calls her by her first name in the same way he calls other senators by their first names.”
“So, what is your reaction to Sherrod Brown a liberal Democrat from Ohio suggesting the president was sexist in his comments towards Sen. Warren?” host Joe Scarborough pressed. (VIDEO: Josh Earnest Dodges TEN CONSECUTIVE Questions On Clinton Foundation)
“Joe, as somebody who gets paid to talk in public for a living, I try to be mindful — try to be slow at least to criticize people who say things in public that are so inconsistent with their reputation and with their character,” Earnest responded. “And Sen. Brown is somebody that has a good relationship with the president.”
“Sen. Brown is a stand-up guy,” he concluded. “And I’m confident after he’s had a chance to take a look at the comments he made yesterday, that he’ll find a way to apologize.”
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