The former Navy SEAL who claims to have fired the shots that killed Osama bin Laden seemed to shade President Trump Monday after the president continued to level criticism at U.S. efforts to eliminate the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks.
“The mission to get bin Laden was bipartisan. We all wanted to get him as soon as we could,” Robert O’Neill tweeted Monday.
The mission to get bin Laden was bipartisan. We all wanted to get him as soon as we could.
— Robert J. O’Neill (@mchooyah) November 19, 2018
Earlier Monday, Trump posted on Twitter that former President Bill Clinton missed his opportunity to take down bin Laden, calling Pakistan “fools” for never informing the U.S. of the terrorist’s whereabouts. His comments follow remarks he made during an interview with “Fox News Sunday” that it would have been “nice” if the country “got” bin Laden “a lot sooner.” Trump also refused to give credit to retired admiral and Navy SEAL William McRaven for leading the May 2011 operation that ultimately killed bin Laden.
This is not the first time O’Neill, a political conservative, has distanced himself from Trump. In February, he slammed Trump’s idea of holding a military parade in Washington, D.C.
“A military parade is third world bullshit. We prepare. We deter. We fight. Stop this conversation,” O’Neill wrote on Twitter at the time.
O’Neill previously dined at the White House in 2017 during Trump’s first year in office.
