President Obama chided the media Friday over what he said was its “obsession” with juicy tidbits from leaked emails during the presidential campaign.
He also blasted what he said was the media’s “troubling” coverage of Hillary Clinton.
“I’m finding it a little curious that everybody’s suddenly acting surprised that this looked like [publications of email leaks were] disadvantaging Hillary Clinton, because you guys wrote about it every day, every single week, about every little juicy tidbit of political gossip,” Obama told reporters during a White House press briefing, the last for 2016.
“This was an obsession that dominated the news coverage.”
Obama was put on the defensive immediately with questions about his administration’s response to alleged Russian hacking of the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
Asked whether he did enough prior to the election to address the issue, Obama argued that he and the administration did.
“I do think it is worth us reflecting how it is that a presidential election of such importance, of such moment, with so many big issues at stake, and such a contrast between the candidates, came to be dominated by a bunch of these leaks,” Obama said.
“What is it about our political system that made us vulnerable to these kinds of potential manipulations?” he asked.
Minutes later, Obama spoke about Clinton and said that she was treated unfairly by the press during the campaign.
“I couldn’t be prouder of Secretary Clinton for her outstanding service. I think she’s worked tirelessly on behalf of the American people, and I don’t think she was treated fairly during the election,” he said. “I think the coverage of her and the issues was troubling.”
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