What a 24 hours 45 has had. This morning he crowed about how our military, with help from the Kurds even after we abandoned them, cornered ISIS leader Abu Baker al-Baghdadi in Syria. Al-Baghdadi detonated his suicide vest, killing himself and several children. Trump took malevolent glee in reciting (and perhaps making up) gory and humiliating detail about the ISIS leader's last moments. It really was nauseating to listen to. Yes, the world is better off without this terrorist but gloating over anyone's death is unseemly and may endanger many now that ISIS prisoners have escaped their Kurdish prison guards. They will want revenge for their leader's humiliation.
Trump loves to compare himself to his predecessor Barack Obama so of course he tried to make the case today that al-Baghdadi's death was a bigger deal than Osama bin Laden's. Then trump falsely claimed he had called for bin Laden's death in a 2000 book. We can also compare how trump treats such a grave moment to how Obama did, as the Washington Post's David Nakamura does in this opinion piece.
There also appears to be some doubt as to whether trump watched the raid as it happened. The timeline suggests he may have been playing golf and a former White House photographer has suggested the War Room photo of trump and some generals may have been staged after the fact. This would not surprise me in the least.
Hours later, trump and his closest sycophants attended Game 5 of the World Series. The crowd booed trump. Loudly. Then they chanted "Lock him up." So.... not exactly a victory lap. Team owners reportedly asked game officials to *not* sit trump next to them. This splendidly named New York Times piece gives the details of trump's humiliation. Add to that the protest signs reading "Veterans for impeachment" that sprung up just behind home plate when trump was introduced in the third inning.
Was he expecting to be feted as the conquering hero? Perhaps. But he got a dose of what Americans who do not attend his rallies or watch Fox News think of him. I doubt he will be going out "to the old ball game" again anytime soon. If you have not seen/heard his horrendous 2001 rendition of that ballpark classic, here you go.
The Tweet of the day goes to Patton Oswalt who summed up 45's day thusly: "Imagine being so hated that on the day you announce that the leader of ISIS has been killed on your orders a stadium full of baseball fans still boos you."
Trump is that hated and for good reason. Yes, a terrorist leader is dead. That is good. But this country is still stuck with a president fixated on his own ego rather than the nation's best interests. He's had more than three strikes and too many fouls to count. Time to call him "Out!"
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