President Trump took a jab at the Obama administration for not capturing or killing Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. Baghdadi killed himself as U.S. armed forces closed in on him in northwestern Syria, Trump announced Sunday morning.
Trump addressed the extremist leader’s death again on Monday during his speech addressing the International Association of Chiefs of Police at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois.
“[al-Baghdadi] is dead, he’s dead as a doornail,” Trump stated. “And he didn’t die bravely either, I will tell you that. He should have been killed years ago. Another president should’ve gotten him. But to me it was a very important — I would say all the time they would walk into my office, ‘Sir, we killed this leader at a low level, this leader’— I said I never heard of him. I want al-Baghdadi. That’s the only one I know now. I want al-Baghdadi, get him.”
While Barack Obama has not made a public statement about Baghdadi’s death, his former national security adviser Susan Rice has. She praised the military action as “a major milestone,” during an appearance on CBS’s Face The Nation Sunday. She did go on to knock the Trump administration for not notifying Obama prior to the raid; however she was only speculating that they hadn’t been in contact.
