CNN's John King called President Obama "lonely and isolated" Sunday on the political issue of allowing in Syrian refugees, with Associated Press reporter Julie Pace agreeing that Obama's blistering words for those who didn't back his opinion had put him in a vulnerable position.
Obama suggested those opposed to allowing in Syrian refugees for national security reasons were "not American," "shameful," and giving into a "dark impulse." Later, he noted in more toned-down rhetoric that refugees who wound up in the U.S. were the most heavily scrutinized people to enter the country.
The White House was dealt a blow when the House of Representatives passed a veto-proof bill this week that would suspend the program allowing in Syrian and Iraqi refugees until they were certified to not be a risk by national security agencies. Forty-seven Democrats joined every Republican in the majority.
"If you look at the House vote, the president lost 47 Democrats," King said. "A veto-proof majority. How does he make his case before the Senate gets to this, where he only has to lose six or seven Democrats? We do have an election next year. The president seems a little lonely and isolated right now."
"He is," Pace said. "You wonder if the president had made the statement that you just played, as his initial response to this, if maybe the situation [on] the Hill would be a bit different, but his initial reaction was to essentially say that if you are someone who is even considering trying to block refugees from coming to this country, then you are un-American, and that really got a lot of people's backs up against the wall."
Pace added that the White House would need to work to provide political cover on the issue for Senate Democrats, given that a majority of the public backs a measure like the one passed in the House.
"Right now, it is not looking like a bad vote to vote for something that would tighten restrictions," she said.