Chuck Todd: W.H. Summit on Extremism Comes Across as ‘Politically Correct’

‘I’m told there is actually debate inside the White House about should they be avoiding the phrase radical Islam or not?’

Chuck Todd: White House Summit On Combating Extremism Comes Across As "Politically Correct" (RealClearPolitics)

CHUCK TODD, NBC NEWS: I was just looking at the fact sheet that the White House just put out, to go in conjunction with the president's statement. I can already predict exactly what some of the criticism is going to be of the president. 

You don't see the word Islam, Islamic, or radical Islam anywhere in the fact sheet. They use extremists, very careful not to associate it with one religion, frankly, I'm told there is actually debate inside the White House about should they be avoiding the phrase radical Islam or not? Do you say it to force other countries and leaders to tackle this because happening in their religion and faith?

ALEX WAGNER, MSNBC: There are different types of extremism here at play. I think one of the criticisms the White House has gotten is this is too broad an umbrella. What can you accomplish when you cast your net this wide?

CHUCK TODD: It comes across as if they are trying to be so politically correct that they're losing focus on what the problem is, which is you have a group of -- there was an article in The Atlantic that was comparing ISIS to a cult. It is a cult that is using a perversion of Islam to create a cult of death.

The problem here -- nobody is saying there is not extremism in every religion, but what is the acute issue at hand right now that the western world is dealing with? it is this group that is using Islam, a radical form of it, to try to recruit terrorists.

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