President Obama’s press secretary, Robert Gibbs, today said he won’t comment on the Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s reported slam of Thomas Jefferson.
The comment at issue was from the minister who once proudly declared “God d— America” and pastored Obama and his family for two decades. As a candidate for president, Obama disavowed knowledge of Wright’s inflammatory comments and later resigned his membership in Wright’s church as the pastor’s sentiments drew national attention..
The question came from Les Kinsolving, WND’s correspondent at the White House.
“Attorney [William] Hyland, in his new book published by St. Martin’s Press in July, entitled, ‘In Defense of Jefferson,’ quotes the Rev. Jeremiah Wright as claiming, ‘Jefferson had intelligence, but he also had babies by a 15-year-old slave girl. I think judges call that pedophilia.’
“And my question: President Obama does not believe that his presidential predecessor was a pedophile, does he?” Kinsolving asked.
“When you say his presidential predecessor, do you mean one of the previous presidents?” Gibbs responded.
“Yes.”
“You know, I have not seen the book, Lester. I don’t – I’m not afforded the opportunity, given I’ve got to read,” Gibbs said.
“Would you look into it and – ” Kinsolving asked.
“No, I won’t,” Gibbs said.
According to Amazon.com, the book “destroys the myth that Thomas Jefferson had a relationship with his slave Sally Heming and concludes that Jefferson’s younger brother, Randolph, is the most likely candidate to have fathered Hemings’s children.”
The author charges that biographers have “mangled professional standards” by extrapolating from a DNA link between Jefferson and Hemings’ descendants the claim the president assaulted the slave girl.
Gibbs continued with his response, saying, “Are there any presidents you want to have look into that? … Who am I supposed to ask? No, go ahead, I’m sorry, I’m indulging – stop, that was a bubble box. Go ahead, I’m sorry. I’m not the only one having a bubble box moment.”
In his second question, Kinsolving asked: “When and why did the president first decide to support the limiting of abortion?”
“I’m sorry?” said Gibbs.
“When and why did the president first decide to support limiting of abortion? He seemed to be in favor of all kinds of abortion before, now he’s put a limitation on it,” Kinsolving elaborated.
Obama has verbally disputed claims his health-care proposals would provide federal funding for abortions.
“I think if you go back and look at what the president has said, obviously he believes in the deeply personal choice of a woman’s right to choose, understanding that that consultation is made in a very personal way. And that obviously one of the things that he’s dedicated some time and resources to is ensuring that we do all that we can to avoid anybody having to make that decision,” Gibbs said.
Special offers:
48 Liberal Lies About American History: (That You Probably Learned in School) (Hardcover)
America’s God and Country Encyclopedia of Quotations (book)
Best Little Stories from the White House
Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto (Hardcover)
The 2 things Trump can do to make himself the GOAT president
Wayne Allyn Root