White House Says Giuliani Criticism Is Just ‘Sad’

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Friday that he feels “sorry” for former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has spent the past couple of days publicly questioning President Barack Obama’s love for America.

Earnest said it’s “sad” when someone who has attained a “certain level of stature or admiration tarnishes that reputation so thoroughly.”

Giuliani first said he wasn’t sure the President “loves America” on Wednesday, saying that he “wasn’t brought up the way you were brought up or I was brought up.” On Thursday, Giuliani did some damage control, walking back some of his statements, but maintaining that the President is overly critical of the country.” “From the way he talks,” Giuliani said Thursday on Bloomberg, “it sounds to me like a guy who has trouble expressing love for America.”

Earnest noted that the President has on many occasions expressed his love for the country—saying he did so most recently at the end of the State of the Union address, when he said, “God bless this country we love.”