Obama hugs grandbaby, which forces grandma to retire

Not a political comment ; just a reminder of what I always talk about in my classes re: reading/interpreting a text carefully.

 Obama, on congratulating reporter Ann Compton on retiring after forty one years: "she has decided to retire...I was proud to be able to hug her grandbaby recently, and I suspect that may have something to do with her decision."

 Read that again carefully..Grammatically, there's only one way to read it..
and it's surely not what he meant  

Why did no one laugh? Why did no one in the news reports/comedian responses catch this? Watch it 17:07ff below!