Republican Senator Lindsey Graham called on President Donald Trump’s ‘worst’ critics to deliver praise where it was due, after the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
‘This is a game changer,’ Graham told reporters during a briefing at the White House on Sunday.
‘This is a moment where we should all be proud of our American military and our intelligence community. This is a moment where President Trump´s worst critics should say, ‘well done Mr. President.”
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham speaking to reporters at the White House Briefing Room said the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ‘is a game changer’
‘This is a moment where President Trump´s worst critics should say, ‘well done Mr. President’, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told reporters Sunday. Trump is pictured above making a statement in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House on Sunday
For Trump, the death of ISIS is a signature achievement that may help quell growing criticism from his own ranks, but it is unlikely to offer much relief from Democratic-led scrutiny of his dealings with Ukraine.
The raid could not have come at a better time for the president, who is facing an impeachment investigation by Democrats in the US House of Representatives, who say his attempt to persuade Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden was an abuse of power and may have put national security at risk.
Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (pictured) killed himself as special services forces deployed from an airbase in Iraq came for him in a weekend raid
‘I don’t think it alters the trajectory of our politics in any way necessarily, but without question, for the president it’s a huge win. There’s no other way to spin it,’ said Lanhee Chen, a Hoover Institution scholar who advised Republican Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign in 2016 and Mitt Romney in 2012.
Graham, who himself who had blasted Trump for pulling out of Syria, rephrased his rhetoric on Sunday to applaud the president following the weekend raid that led to the ISIS leader killing himself.
The Republican senator from North Carolina wasn’t alone.
Senate majority leader Republican Mitch McConnell (pictured), who strongly condemned the troop withdrawal from Syria, said on Sunday he applauded the news of Baghdadi’s death and was grateful ‘to President Trump and his team for their leadership’
Even Senator Mitt Romney (pictured), Trump’s fiercest Republican critic, took to Twitter to thank the President for sending Baghdadi to ‘hell’.
Senate majority leader Republican Mitch McConnell, who strongly condemned the troop withdrawal from Syria, said on Sunday he applauded the news of Baghdadi’s death and was grateful ‘to President Trump and his team for their leadership’.
Even Senator Mitt Romney, Trump’s fiercest Republican critic, took to Twitter to thank the President for sending Baghdadi to ‘hell’.
And the good news apparently brought a brief truce with Democrats who are looking to beat Trump in the 2020 presidential elections, if they cannot remove him from office via impeachment.
Several senior Democrats, including Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, and Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, congratulated Trump.
But many were quick to point out that Baghdadi’s death did not put an end to Islamic State and that Trump had no strategy for the region.
They also called out the president for breaking with tradition by failing to brief the full ‘Gang of Eight’ Congressional leaders ahead of the raid.
Trump pointedly said on Sunday that he did not tell House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, his chief Democratic rival who has played a leading role in the impeachment drama, about the plan because of concerns the information would leak and put American soldiers at risk.
‘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,’ Pelosi said in a statement in which she praised the armed forces.
Trump said on Sunday that he did not tell House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (pictured), his chief Democratic rival who has played a leading role in the impeachment process underway, about the raid because of concerns the information would leak and put American soldiers at risk
A statement from Senate Minority Leader and Democrat Chuck Schumer says ‘All Americans especially salute the special operations forces who executed this mission,’ in a reference to the military service members involved in the raid, but doesn’t give Trump any credit
A statement from Senate Minority Leader and Democrat Chuck Schumer says ‘All Americans especially salute the special operations forces who executed this mission,’ in a reference to the military service members involved in the raid, as well as the intelligence community, foreign allies and partners, ‘particularly the Syrian Kurds,’ but does not give the Trump administration any credit.
Experts say the takedown of Baghdadi is unlikely to distract lawmakers from the impeachment probe, which has gained momentum following a number of damaging witness testimonies which Republicans are increasingly struggling to rebut.
Speaking to reporters following a top US diplomat’s closed-door testimony on Wednesday, John Thune, the Senate’s No. 2 Republican, said the picture emerging from the investigation was ‘not a good one,’ a possible sign that Republican support for Trump might be faltering.
‘In years past you could see how this would pause the political rhetoric for at least a few days,’ said the Hoover Institution’s Chen. ‘I don´t see that happening this time.’