President Donald Trump’s triumphant takedown of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the top ISIS leader, on Saturday night sent Democratic lawmakers scrambling on Sunday, Fox News noted on Sunday evening.
Related: Lindsey Graham on ISIS Leader’s Death: ‘I Want to Congratulate Donald Trump’
Why? Because several Dem leaders had been complaining recently — including Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) — that the White House had no “real plan” to combat ISIS given the recent U.S. troops pullout from Syria, as the Democrat senator tweeted recently.
Perhaps there was no more compelling sign of message failure on the part of those on the Left than NBC’s most recent “Saturday Night Live” this past weekend.
The show ran an “ill-timed sketch suggesting that Trump had created ‘jobs’ for ISIS — just hours before the president held a news conference announcing al-Baghdadi’s demise,” as Fox News pointed out.
“The sketch aired around the time the two-hour late-night raid in northwest Syria was underway.”
Awkward timing indeed.
See this tweet:
This aged well…
Here's the ill-timed "Make ISIS Great Again" joke that SNL was trying to smear @realDonaldTrump with around the time Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi was killed last night. pic.twitter.com/s61ZiikVp9
— Eddie Zipperer (@EddieZipperer) October 27, 2019
“It’s genuinely fascinating watching Democrats in real time struggle to figure out what to say about this,” journalist Glenn Greenwald wrote in a tweet on Sunday.
“They want to be patriotic and anti-ISIS, but also need a way to malign Trump without contradicting their gushing Obama praise over [Osama bin Laden]: not an easy balancing act. Good luck!”
It's genuinely fascinating watching Democrats in real time struggle to figure out what to say about this. They want to be patriotic and anti-ISIS, but also need a way to malign Trump without contradicting their gushing Obama praise over OBL: not an easy balancing act. Good luck!
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) October 27, 2019
Dems worked very hard, it appeared to many, to try to avoid complimenting the president on a successful, important and daring raid — while in some cases complaining they were not told in advance and felt left out of the process.
But Trump suggested that Democrats in Congress — who have been engaged in an impeachment push against the president “that has been fraught with leaked information to the media,” as Fox News noted — were not informed ahead of the raid out of concern they might compromise the operation with leaks.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), speaking on Sunday morning to Maria Bartiromo of the Fox News Channel about the news, noted, “This was a hard call by the president. He deserves a lot of credit, but the glory goes to the men and women who planned this operation, executed it. Last night the best of America met the worst of mankind in Baghdadi and the good guys won.”
Graham also said, “I just cannot tell you how much of a reminder this should be to the people aligned with us that America will not forget acts of terrorism and those who oppose us. We will never forget you — and we’ll always come after you.”
See more information and reaction (on both sides) in the tweets below — and share your thoughts:
It's baffling and sad media disdain for President Trump is so intense its lending sympathy to one of worst killers mankind has ever known.
Media praise & sympathy for Baghdadi
Great Scholar
Religious leader
Great builder of global organization
Deserved honorable burial https://t.co/JJrgQmpAQv— Charles V Payne (@cvpayne) October 27, 2019
Kurds made the mission possible, but Trump thanked Russians instead.
Trump kept US leaders in the dark, but gave Russians the heads up.
The intel community were heroes here, but Trump attacks these patriots constantly.
Thanks to the @CIA 🇺🇸 https://t.co/rUseFXZnnH
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) October 27, 2019
THANK YOU PRESIDENT TRUMP#alBaghdadi is FINALLY GONE!
The Dems should be happy but they are mad @realDonaldTrump didn’t tell them about the raid!#Baghdadi would have got away if Trump informed all the Democrats!
LETS ALL THANK PRES TRUMP
Use 👉#ThankYouPresidentTrump pic.twitter.com/P7yQpz8O0B
— Terrence K. Williams (@w_terrence) October 27, 2019
White House releases photo of Trump, advisers monitoring al-Baghdadi raid in Situation Room https://t.co/rk4JOEyS77 pic.twitter.com/qeVXIKDMZg
— The Hill (@thehill) October 28, 2019
When you realize:
Pelosi and Schiff were just in Jordan trying to undermine Trump’s Syria cease-fire
Dianne Feinstein repeatedly met with Iranian officials
John Kerry has tried to undermine Trump’s Iran policy for 3 years
…It makes sense why Trump kept Democrats in the dark
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) October 28, 2019
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