People from the government/media often say they are serious, or to take a storm seriously, or that they are no nonsense people, which is not the same as being serious. They want to be taken seriously, that's why they're saying what they're saying the way they're saying it. When someone wants to get
respect, or be respected, they'll say/do just about anything to get what they want, just like people
will say/do just about anything to get money or anything else they want.