NBC News' Andrea Mitchell chided at President Obama for his controversial remarks about Christianity and the Crusades at the National Prayer Breakfast earlier in the week.



Mitchell criticized Obama for leaning over backwards to be philosophical days after it was found out that a captured Jordanian pilot was burned alive by ISIS.



"You don't use the word Crusades, number one, in any context right now," Mitchell said on NBC's Meet the Press today. "It's just it's too fraught. And the week after a pilot is burned alive, in a video shown, you don't lean over backwards to be philosophical about the sins of the fathers. You have to deal with the issue that's in front of you or don't deal with it at all."



Oddly, Mitchell's co-panelist, conservative New York Times columnist David Brooks defended the president, calling himself "pro-Obama" on the subject.





ANDREA MITCHELL, NBC NEWS: You don't use the word Crusades, number one, in any context right now. It's just it's too fraught. And the week after a pilot is burned alive, in a video shown, you don't lean over backwards to be philosophical about the sins of the fathers. You have to deal with the issue that's in front of you or don't deal with it at all. Talk about faith...



CHUCK TODD, MEET THE PRESS: There are a lot of politicians, conservative politicians, who invoke religion when talking about fighting ISIS.



MITCHELL: But he's the president. He's the president, and you can't really go back to 1095.



CHUCK TODD, MEET THE PRESS: You think he made a mistake.



MITCHELL: I do, because it's so out of context, and it is so much in passing. If you're giving a major speech about theology, perhaps. But this is the prayer breakfast. And remember, you know, the context of that. It's very limited.