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CNN analyst criticizes Trump's 'embarrassing' statement on Al-Baghdadi: 'We don't celebrate death'
By Sam Dorman
Published October 29, 2019
CNN counterterrorism analyst Philip Mudd said on Monday that President Trump had caused embarrassment when he used certain language to describe how U.S. forces killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
"You do not celebrate death. I don't care if it's a terrorist, I don't care if it's someone you hate. A human being has died. We don’t celebrate that," Mudd said while appearing on the network. He also recalled feeling uneasy as people celebrated the death of Al Qaeda terrorist leader Usama Bin Laden during the Obama administration.
"He died after running into a dead-end tunnel, whimpering and crying and screaming,” Trump said of Al-Baghdadi on Sunday. “The thug who tried so hard to intimidate others spent his last moments in utter fear, panic and dread – terrified of the American forces bearing down.”
According to Mudd, Trump was aiding the enemy by using language that would galvanize support for terrorists in the Middle East.
"The other thing in terms of language -- you don't taunt an adversary. On Sunday afternoons in football, you tell the guys in the locker room: 'Don’t give them stuff to put on the bulletin board,'" Mudd said.
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"You don’t use that language, which will echo around the Middle East, about things like dogs and whimpering. Because there’s still a lot of people who follow this movement who are going to say, 'You talk about us like that, we’re coming at you.'
"I would not use that and I find it — it's embarrassing."
Mudd wasn't the only one to get upset about Trump's remarks. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., also derided Trump's press conference.
"That press conference was extraordinary. You would think that he was talking about watching and giving commentary on a video game. He is the commander-in-chief, the commander in chief of the United States of America," she said.
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FiveThirtyEight editor Nate Silver called out liberals for not allowing Trump to have "one good day" after Al-Baghdadi's death.
"It really amazing how many Libs can't even permit Trump to have *one good day* (nobody will remember this stuff by Tuesday) after US forces kill perhaps the world's most wanted terrorist," he tweeted on Sunday.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/philip-mudd-baghdadi-death