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President Obama: "TV Shows Should Have Muslim Characters That Are Unrelated to National Security"
President Obama made a historic visit to a Baltimore mosque Wednesday, where he criticized the TV industry
In a direct response to anti-Muslim rhetoric from Republican presidential candidates, President Obama visited an American mosque for the first time during his presidency on Wednesday. While there, according to Deadline, he criticized the news media and TV producers for failing to depict Muslims in stories other than ones relating to national security, where they're usually terrorists or refugees rather than the regular people the vast majority of Muslim-Americans are.
"It's not that hard to do," Obama said during an address at the Islamic Society of Baltimore. "There was a time when there were no black people on television. You can tell good stories while still representing a reality of our communities."
The comments came as part of a larger statement of support for American Muslims, who have been targeted in rhetoric from candidates like Donald Trump.