The soldier who killed Osama bin Laden has waded into the war-of-words between President Donald Trump and the Navy official who oversaw the 2011 mission that led to the notorious terrorist’s death.
The feud began after the president was asked about retired Navy Admiral William McRaven last year criticizing the president’s attack on the media.
The president called McRaven a “Hillary Clinton fan.” In an interview, he also said it would have “been nice” if bin Laden was killed sooner.
“Wouldn’t it have been nice if we got Osama bin Laden a lot sooner than that, wouldn’t it have been nice?” Trump said. “You know, living, think of this, living in Pakistan, beautifully in Pakistan in what I guess they considered a nice mansion, I don’t know, I’ve seen nicer. But living in Pakistan right next to the military academy, everybody in Pakistan knew he was there.”
The president continued on Twitter on Monday morning:
“Of course we should have captured Osama Bin Laden long before we did. I pointed him out in my book just BEFORE the attack on the World Trade Center. President Clinton famously missed his shot. We paid Pakistan Billions of Dollars & they never told us he was living there. Fools!” Trump said in a series of tweets. “We no longer pay Pakistan the $Billions because they would take our money and do nothing for us, Bin Laden being a prime example, Afghanistan being another. They were just one of many countries that take from the United States without giving anything in return. That’s ENDING!”
Of course we should have captured Osama Bin Laden long before we did. I pointed him out in my book just BEFORE the attack on the World Trade Center. President Clinton famously missed his shot. We paid Pakistan Billions of Dollars & they never told us he was living there. Fools!..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 19, 2018
….We no longer pay Pakistan the $Billions because they would take our money and do nothing for us, Bin Laden being a prime example, Afghanistan being another. They were just one of many countries that take from the United States without giving anything in return. That’s ENDING!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 19, 2018
Shortly after the president’s tweets, Robert O’Neill—the soldier who killed bin Laden—commented on the feud by calling the mission “bipartisan.”
“The mission to get bin Laden was bipartisan. We all wanted to get him as soon as we could,” he wrote.
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
This isn’t the first time O’Neill has been critical of the president. In February, he called Trump’s plan to host a military parade “third world bullshit.”
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