President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani was the subject of jokes after accidentally referring to the late al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden as “Ben Laden” in a now-deleted tweet Tuesday morning.
The tweet came after a U.S. military raid that resulted in the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi at a compound in northern Syria on Saturday evening. Giuliani brought up Democrats who are allegedly criticizing the president after the death, comparing it to the reactions he said Republicans had when the Obama administration killed Bin Laden.
Giuliani accidentally called bin Laden “Ben Laden” in the now-deleted tweet, and hysteria on Twitter followed. (RELATED: ISIS Leader Baghdadi Gets Proper Burial At Sea)
“Contrast the reaction to the killing of Ben Laden,” Giuliani’s tweet read. “I and my fellow Republicans congratulated President Obama. Are we better than the Dems who are criticizing @realDonaldTrump. No,but maybe it can be a teaching moment to decent Americans to reject this pathology of political hate.”
NYT contributing op-ed writer and CNN contributor Wajahat Ali responded to Giuliani’s blunder with sarcasm, wondering who exactly “Ben Laden” is and why Obama would kill him.
“Why did President Obama kill Ben Laden?” Ali tweeted Monday morning. “Who is he? Where did he live? What did he do? Surely, this is the biggest scandal and hidden secret of his entire presidency.”
TV producer Bryan Behar also responded with a quip, tweeting various examples of who bin Laden was versus “Ben Laden.”
“Bin Laden was the world’s most nefarious terrorist. Ben Laden is a guy I went to Hebrew School with,” one of Behar’s tweets read.
Bin Laden= evil terrorist
Ben Laden= helped prepare my taxes https://t.co/GoT1CDCdy4— Bryan Behar (@bryanbehar) October 29, 2019
“I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure Ben Laden was the guy who fit me for my retainer,” Behar added in another tweet.
Mehdi Hasan, a columnist for The Intercept, pointed out that “Trump explicitly said not to congratulate Obama, only the Navy Seals who killed OBL.” He added the phrase “Ben Laden” with a laughing emoji on Twitter.
“Ben Laden was a kid I knew at sleep away camp whose bar mitzvah theme was ‘Sports,'” screenwriter Bess Kalb wrote. Washington Post reporter John Hudson compared the blunder to American comedian Larry David’s 2010 “Curb Your Enthusiasm” skit. David joked about referring to the al-Qaeda leader as “Ben Laden.”
“In one wonderful tweet, Giuliani becomes a real life Larry David sketch, mistakenly saying ‘Ben Laden’ instead of ‘bin Laden,'” Hudson tweeted.
Josh Jordan, who has written for the National Review and Real Clear Politics, provided screenshots in response to Giuliani. The pictures showed Trump tweeting in 2012 that Obama doesn’t deserve credit for killing bin Laden.`
Yes, Rudy… let’s compare and contrast. pic.twitter.com/x5Onwzri18
— Josh Jordan (@NumbersMuncher) October 29, 2019
“Where were you the moment that you heard Ben Laden had been killed?” Jordan added in another tweet.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.