Huckabee: Obama more interested in attacking GOP than ISIS

The spat between President Obama and Republican presidential candidates over the treatment of Syrian refugees intensified on Wednesday, with one second-tier Republican suggesting the president is more concerned about politics than national security.

"Our president instead of going full bore against ISIS seems to be more intent on going after Republican governors," former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said in a telephone interview with CBSN on Wednesday.

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A day earlier, President Obama slammed GOP candidates for who are saying the U.S. shouldn't accept Syrian refugees. Talk of keeping out refugees "needs to stop," Mr. Obama said during a trip to the Philippines. "I cannot think of a more potent recruitment tool for ISIL than some of the rhetoric that's been coming out of here during the course of this debate."

Huckabee called the president's remarks "tone deaf." Americans who are concerned about incoming refugees "just don't want to see in the streets of America what we've seen in the streets of Paris," the Republican candidate said. He also said that Mr. Obama is "more interested in protecting reputation of Islam than American people."

Back in Washington, Huckabee's primary opponent Sen. Ted Cruz also took issue with Mr. Obama's "personal insults."

"Let me suggest something, Mr. President, if you want to insult me you can do it overseas, you can do it in Turkey, you can do it in foreign countries, but I would encourage you, Mr. President, come back and insult me to my face," Cruz said.

The senator went on to say he would debate Mr. Obama on the issue "anywhere you want."

Mr. Obama on Tuesday specifically took issue with Republicans like Cruz, who have suggested the U.S. should accept only Christian refugees. Cruz defended that position Wednesday.

"Syrian Muslim refugees need to be taken care of, and we should compassionately help resettle them in the Middle East in majority Muslim countries. Why is that? Because the administration lacks the ability to differentiate between those who are terrorists and those who are not," Cruz told reporters.

He called Christians from the Middle East "a qualitatively different situation," arguing that Christians are facing "systematic persecution" by ISIS. "The Obama administration is not letting in the Syrian Christians, which makes no sense," he said. "We should be working to provide a safe haven."

Of the 1,869 Syrian refugees admitted to the U.S. this year, 25 are Christian, according to the Worldwide Refugee Admissions Processing System website. About 10 percent of Syrians are Christian, according to the CIA.

While Cruz and Huckabee were slamming the president, Mr. Obama defended his policy priorities and views in a series of messages on Twitter:

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• Ted Cruz