Matt Lauer Weighs In On Obama’s ‘Ass’ Kicking Comment

Earlier this week President Obama made some headlines when he told “Today”‘s Matt Lauer he talked to advisers about the Gulf oil spill “because they potentially have the best answers as to whose ass to kick.”

The response even drew criticism from CNBC anchor Becky Quick, who said on “Squawk Box” that “using the A word when you are on the Today Show talking with Matt Lauer, yeah, that disturbs me.”

Lauer, in an interview with Broadcasting & Cable‘s Marisa Guthrie, says that the criticism Obama received about the comment was probably unwarranted.

“He wants people to understand that he is taking action. When he went off on that, it didn’t really shock me. I just think it’s important to put it in context [and] to understand that he didn’t just draw ‘kick some ass’ out of thin air. If you just saw the sound-bite without the question you might be tempted to think that this was completely calculated and a day before he said, I’m going to use the word ‘ass’ on the air and that’s going to shake people up. I don’t think that’s a fair characterization.”

Guthrie also notes that Lauer “led the president down that road when he asked him if perhaps it was time to “kick some butt.”

Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.