Politics

Obama Blames Fox, ‘Conservative Media’ For Making Him ‘Seem Scary’

Steve Guest Media Reporter
Font Size:

President Barack Obama claimed that “Fox News and conservative media” make him “seem scary.”

During an interview with Marilynne Robinson to be published in the Nov. 5 issue of The New York Review of Books, Obama suggested that when he first ran for office, “I had the benefit that at the time nobody expected me to win. And so I wasn’t viewed through this prism of Fox News and conservative media, and making me scary. At the time, I didn’t seem scary, other than just having a funny name.”

Obama: It’s interesting, because we’re talking in Iowa; people always, I think, were surprised about me connecting with folks in small-town Iowa. And the reason I did was, first of all, I had the benefit that at the time nobody expected me to win. And so I wasn’t viewed through this prism of Fox News and conservative media, and making me scary. At the time, I didn’t seem scary, other than just having a funny name. I seemed young. Sometimes I look at my pictures from then and I say, I can’t believe anybody voted for me because I look like I’m 25.

Follow Steve on Twitter