White House press secretary Josh Earnest said President Obama has no intention of lighting the White House in blue to honor the policemen killed in recent attacks in Dallas and Baton Rouge.
Earnest continued Monday by saying that the police still deserve "praise" and "respect."
Fox New's Kevin Corke told Earnest that he gets this question very often, which was about why the President hasn't lit the White House in blue yet to honor the fallen officers. He has previously lit the White House in multi-colors to show support for the Supreme Court decision in favor of same-sex marriage.
"I've asked you about this previously," he said. "It seems to be such a very small but potentially powerful gesture that would take so little and would mean so much to so many, and I'm just wondering if there might be any reconsideration, especially given what has now just happened again in Baton Rouge?"
Earnest promptly responded by saying that Obama has no intention of illuminating the White House in blue.
He then continued by stressing all of the other things Obama has done to show support for law enforcement, such as lowering the flags to half-mast, going to Dallas for the memorials, and giving speeches.
Earnest reiterated that all police officers deserve nothing but respect from the community for their "heroic work."
"I think all of this is an indication of just how strongly the president feels about the need to show our strong support for our men and women in law enforcement," he said. "As the president said on a number of occasions, the vast majority of our police officers do an outstanding job and they do heroic work. They put on the uniform and walk out the door, prepare to put their life on the line at a moment's notice, just to protect their community, and that is work that is worthy of our respect and praise, and not our scorn."
Corke was less than convinced by this answer.
"I'm just curious about the—," he said.
He paused, then shrugged.
"I don't know, Josh," he said. "It just seems sometimes that there's this disconnect that despite his efforts, it's not reaching that community in a way that is reflective of perhaps his intentions. Is he frustrated by that? Because it seems like if you listen to some folks in law enforcement, they don't feel like they're getting the kind of support that they need. I don't know what that looks like. I'm not in law enforcement, and so I'm just wondering do you sense that disconnect and is that frustrating in any way?"
Earnest said that Obama has been working hard this past week to try to get the country to come together and realize our common interest.