Fox News contributor Karl Rove distorted comments made by President Obama in the wake of unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, suggesting the president downplayed the acts of violent rioters and refused to distinguish between peaceful protesters and “outside agitators.” But Obama unequivocally denounced violent protests during a statement about the ongoing demonstrations in the St. Louis suburb.

On August 18, Obama delivered remarks on the progress of airstrikes in Iraq and violence in Ferguson, Missouri after the death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown, who was allegedly shot by a St. Louis County police officer. On August 19, Rove condemned Obama's remarks on Fox's Happening Now, claiming that the president failed to draw a strict line between the “peaceful protesters” and the “outside agitators” in Ferguson. Rove also accused Obama of creating a “moral equivalency” by placing the police and violent protesters on “the same level,” concluding that Obama's statements were “not worthy of the president.”

However, in Obama's remarks on Ferguson, he drew a line between the peaceful protesters and rioters when he condemned violence of any kind, explaining that “It undermines rather than advancing justice” :