After then-President Barack Hussein Obama’s administration killed terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden in 2011, the vast majority of voices on the right, including current Republican President Donald Trump, rushed to congratulate him.
“I want to personally congratulate President Obama and the men [and] women of the Armed Forces for a job very well done. I am so proud to see Americans standing shoulder to shoulder, waving the American flag in celebration of this great victory,” Trump said in a statement at the time.
“We should spend the next several days not debating party politics, but in remembrance of those who lost their lives on 9/11 and those fighting for our freedom. God Bless America.”
I want to personally congratulate President Obama and the men women of the Armed Forces for a job very well (cont) http://tl.gd/a7dhom
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 2, 2011
Other notable figures followed suit.
“President Obama drew praise from unlikely quarters on Monday for pursuing a risky and clandestine mission to kill Osama bin Laden, a successful operation that interrupted the withering Republican criticism about his foreign policy, world view and his grasp of the office,” The New York Times noted at the time.
“Former Vice President Dick Cheney declared, ‘The administration clearly deserves credit for the success of the operation.’ New York’s former mayor, Rudolph W. Giuliani, said, ‘I admire the courage of the president.'”
“There are going to be political benefits to the president from this. He deserves it,” then-House Homeland Security Committee chair Peter King added. “If this had gone wrong, he would have been hurt very bad politically. It goes right, he should get the benefit of it. [W]e can debate other issues, but no one in our country, in our party should debate or question what the president did here.”
Even renowned conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh, one of Obama’s fiercest critics, tipped his hat in praise.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we need to open the program today by congratulating President Obama,” he said. “President Obama has done something extremely effective, and when he does, this needs to be pointed out.”
Rush Limbaugh praises President Obama. (Stop laughing. We’re serious.) | http://ti.me/kj1r4l
— TIME (@TIME) May 3, 2011
Eight years later, with ISIS’s top leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, now dead because of the Trump administration’s actions, Obama has nothing nice about Trump to say, it would appear. As of Sunday afternoon, the former president had not tweeted once about al-Baghdadi’s death.
Meanwhile, Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi released a statement in which she praised military and intelligence officials responsible for executing Baghdadi’s killing but then turned around and slapped the very man who oversaw the endeavor.
“This month, the House passed a joint resolution on an overwhelmingly bipartisan 354-60 basis which rejects President Trump’s green-lighting of Turkish aggression into Syria against our Kurdish partners, and calls on him to present a clear strategy to defeat ISIS,” she said.
“The House must be briefed on this raid, which the Russians but not top Congressional Leadership were notified of in advance, and on the Administration’s overall strategy in the region. Our military and allies deserve strong, smart and strategic leadership from Washington.”
Some would argue that killing ISIS leaders is a very “clear strategy.”
Americans salute the heroism, dedication & skill of our military and our intelligence professionals following news that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a U.S. military raid. https://t.co/ohh7t3qGBP
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) October 27, 2019
As for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, he chose to ignore the killing altogether. By 2:30 pm Sunday, he hadn’t posted anything on Twitter yet.
As for Pelosi’s complaints about not being told about the raid, Trump explained Sunday afternoon that he avoided informing her out of concerns she’d leak the information.
Like the speaker, many other Democrats have also chosen to speak of the killing but completely ignore the president’s role in it.
Look:
Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was responsible for the death of many innocent people, including Americans. Grateful to the brave U.S. and allied service members and intelligence professionals who delivered justice to this terrorist leader. https://t.co/mPwu5w5ISB
— Rep. Stephanie Murphy (@RepStephMurphy) October 27, 2019
Thank you to the brave Americans in our military and intelligence community who found al-Baghdadi and brought him to justice. We couldn’t be prouder of their work today and every day.
— Seth Moulton (@sethmoulton) October 27, 2019
For years, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi orchestrated heinous acts of terrorism that claimed the lives of many people. Thank you to the U.S. military & intelligence professionals who have brought us one step closer to crippling ISIS—and to our allies for their courage and bravery as well.
— Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) October 27, 2019
To those who supported the operation that killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, including American special forces, our Kurdish allies, the @CIA and our intelligence officers, thank you for bringing this barbaric terrorist to justice.
— Rep. Dan Kildee (@RepDanKildee) October 27, 2019
Massachusetts Rep. Stephen Lynch, meanwhile, used Baghdadi’s death to trash-talk the president’s otherwise clearly successful foreign policy decisions.
“The President’s erratic intervention has disrupted a coherent strategic plan in Syria which threatens to allow an ISIS resurgence and empower our adversaries,” he said in a statement.
My statement on the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi: pic.twitter.com/0Bg252JKRp
— Rep. Stephen Lynch (@RepStephenLynch) October 27, 2019
One of the few lone Democrats to actually praise Trump by name was, surprisingly enough, Rep. Ted Lieu, who usually loves to trash-talk the president.
“I commend our intelligence community for their work, and our Special Forces for eliminating the leader of ISIS. I commend @realDonaldTrump for giving the order to do so,” he said in a tweet.
I commend our intelligence community for their work, and our Special Forces for eliminating the leader of ISIS. I commend @realDonaldTrump for giving the order to do so. https://t.co/wkUFam5WxM
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) October 27, 2019
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