Fox News Acknowledges 160 Airstrikes Against Islamic State, Still Claims Obama Hasn't Taken Action

Fox News' months-long effort to criticize President Obama's response to the Islamic State extremist group while ignoring the steps he's taken to combat the group culminated in a confused segment claiming that the U.S. has both taken and not taken military action against ISIS.

On the September 15 edition of America's Newsroom, Fox News contributor Pete Hegseth pushed for American ground troops to be sent to the Middle East to combat Islamic State forces there. Hegseth criticized Obama's response thus far, saying that allies are seeing “American ambivalence.”

A more striking ambiguity took place on screen, where Fox News' text suggested simultaneously that:

  • Obama has not taken any military action against the Islamic State
  • U.S. has conducted over 160 airstrikes against the Islamic State

The disjointed segment is representative of Fox's overall coverage of the president's response. On September 9, the hosts of Fox & Friends criticized Obama for doing too little to fight the Islamic State before pivoting to attacks on Obama for requesting funding to continue airstrikes against the group.