WH Spokesman Spars With Fox Host Over Obama’s Paris Response (VIDEO)

White House press secretary Josh Earnest and Fox News host Elisabeth Hasselbeck on Wednesday fought to talk over each other in several minutes of back and forth about President Barack Obama’s response to terror attacks in Paris.

The “Fox and Friends” interview started off rocky when Hasselbeck asked Earnest if he would go back in time to change President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry’s “verbiage” with respect to the attacks, which both have condemned as terrorism. Kerry said Tuesday that he could see the “rationale” behind the attacks on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo earlier this year, but not Friday’s attacks.

“Do you understand that this point how the verbiage needs to change a bit because everyone in this world right now sees them as aloof, apathetic and quite cavalier about these lives being lost at the hand of ISIS,” Hesselbeck said. “Would you go back and ask for that language to be changed at this point to reflect some sort of solidarity and intentional aggression against ISIS?”

Earnest encouraged Hasselbeck and the American people to read the transcript of Obama’s speech.

“I would encourage you to spend just as much time focusing on the President’s actions as you do his words,” he added.

“Josh, I will stop you there,” Hasselbeck interjected.

“Let me finish my answer,” Earnest said as Hasselbeck tried to talk over him. “If you have me on your show to talk about a serious issue, give me an opportunity to answer the question.”

“I would love for you to answer it,” she shot back.

“Elisabeth, if you want to have me on the show to talk about something serious as our national security, ask me a question and I’ll answer it,” Earnest said.

Watch the exchange: