NBC’s Chuck Todd: “Odd” That Obama Won’t Meet Foreign Leaders Given Crisis
NBC’s Chuck Todd: Obama’s Decision To Avoid Controversy By Not Scheduling Bilateral Meetings During The U.N. General Assembly Is “Odd” Given The Current Crises In The Middle East. NBC’S CHUCK TODD: “Meanwhile, today the president comes to New York for the United Nations General Assembly where he delivers his speech tomorrow but won’t have a single one-on-one meeting with a world leader on his schedule. Not anybody. This is about a do-no-harm trip and his aides don’t want any unexpected news. Republicans are already making hay of the president making time to tape the View today. He will also deliver a speech at the Clinton Global Initiative. Obama campaign senior advisor Robert Gibbs was pushed about this schedule on Fox News.” OBAMA CAMPAIGN ADVISOR ROBERT GIBBS: “We have schedules. Leaders have schedules. In many cases those schedules aren’t going to overlap.” FOX NEWS’ CHRIS WALLACE: “But he has time for Whoopi Goldberg but he doesn’t have time for world leaders?” GIBBS: “No, Chris look, the president is going to be actively involved at the U.N. General Assembly.” TODD: “The White House also argues that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice will hold meetings. But folks it is odd to have a president come to the United Nations and not have any bilaterals. Granted it is a campaign year, but still odd considering what’s going on in the Middle East.” (MSNBC’s “Daily Rundown,” 9/24/12)