Minnesota newspaper calls President Obama an ‘assclown,’ apologizes

( <a href="http://photos.twincities.com/2015/02/15/the-loop-ten-2-16-15/#13" target="_blank">screenshot via Pioneer Press</a> )

The author of a Minnesota newspaper slideshow that called President Obama an "assclown" for using a selfie stick apologized Monday.

Sports producer Kevin Cusick used a photo of Obama using a selfie stick from last week's BuzzFeed video in a slide show countdown of the newsmakers of the day on the St. Paul Pioneer Press's Web site. The photo description called selfies, "A fool-proof way to make yourself look like a self-absorbed assclown" before being edited to read "self-absorbed celebrity," according to Minneapolis-St. Paul Fox affiliate KMSP. Also included in the slideshow was a photo of Brian Williams ("Wait till you get a load of his 'Pope Blessed Me' fable"), Kim Kardashian (a "tramp mom") and Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber (D), who announced his resignation last week.

"After further review, it's a poor choice of word," Cusick said in an e-mail to KMSP. "I must have been in an especially foul mood last night. I've toned it down a bit."

Frustration with Obama's use of a selfie stick is understandable considering that interest in selfie sticks rose online and for some retailers immediately after the president's video was posted. #ThanksObama.