President Obama is visiting the Islamic Society of Baltimore today, marking the first time the president has visited an American mosque while in office. The goal, according to the White House, is to counteract some of the rhetoric being shared about the Muslim American community on the 2016 presidential campaign trail.
In a statement, White House advisor Rumana Ahmed, who is a Muslim American, explained the President's decision to speak at the Islamic Society. "Unfortunately, the recent political discourse is antithetical to the basic tenets of what America represents. Politicians and pundits are negatively associating millions of Americans with a small fraction of terrorists," she wrote. "The Muslim Americans who teach our future generations in the classroom, who take care of us in the doctor's offices, who inspire us on and off the field, who protect us on the frontlines of war—these are the people who have always reminded me proudly, that yes, I am Muslim and American."
The White House is live streaming the speech as part of its ongoing efforts to "meet people where they are" with the messages that matter most to the administration. That means rather than issuing press releases or using the media as a microphone, it's using platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube to reach new audiences online.
Watch the livestream, which begins at 12:05 pm ET, below:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/LARUP5va2SE
