Obama Gives No ‘Direct Response’ On Whether He’ll Act Without Congress

U.S. President Barack Obama gestures during his press conference with the Swedish prime minister at the chancellery Rosenbad in Stockholm, Sweden, Wednesday Sept. 4, 2013.
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

President Barack Obama on Friday declined twice to say whether he would take military action in Syria even if Congress rejects the resolution authorizing force.

While holding a press conference in St. Petersburg, Obama told CNN’s Brianna Keiler that speculating on such a dielmma is premature at the moment because he’s still trying to build support on Capitol Hill. 

“I think it would be a mistake for me to jump the gun and speculate because, right now, I’m working to get as much support as possible out of Congress,” he said.

Moments later, another reporter asked the same question, saying Obama neglected to give a “direct response” earlier.

“And you’re not getting a direct response,” Obama said. “Brianna asked the question very well. Did you think that I was going to give you a different answer? No.”

Latest Livewire
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: