Republican Rep. Ann Wagner from Missouri said President Obama "stood up for ISIS" when he criticized Republicans for calling on the administration to stop accepting Syrian refugees.
"Here is what disgusts me, this is just, you know, early morning me here, but I thought what the president did earlier in his press conference was an absolute disgrace," the Wagner said on FM NewsTalk 97.1 on Friday.
In a press conference earlier this week, the president slammed Republicans calling on the administration to stop admitting Syrian refugees out of concerns for security, a position held by some Democrats as well.
"Apparently they are scared of widows and orphans coming into the United States of America," Obama said. "At first, they were too scared of the press being too tough on them in the debates. Now they are scared of 3-year-old orphans. That doesn't seem so tough to me." Obama singled out Republican rhetoric as a "potent recruitment tool for ISIL."
Wagner said Obama stood up for ISIS and went against "the side of freedom."
"He decided to pick a fight and stand up for ISIS and stand up against the side of freedom and to pick a fight with not just Republicans, but Democrats, over this refugee issue," she said. "It is a politicization. It is a deflecting measure."
Wagner added Obama should have left troops in Iraq, singling his failure to get a status of forces agreement with Iraq as a factor leading to the rise of ISIS.