Footage Shows Democratic Party Leader Accusing Trump of 'Aligning Himself with ISIS' Hours Before Al-Baghdadi Kill
Arizona Democratic Party chairwoman Felecia Rotellini was blasted on social media after alleging President Donald Trump had recently “aligned himself” with Islamic State terrorists.
“Another reason that people are going to vote [in 2020 is] because Donald Trump is manipulating that White House and has aligned himself with ISIS,” Rotellini told an audience Saturday in Phoenix, according to The Daily Wire.
The accusation was not well-timed, however, as Trump administration officials would conference in the White House Situation Room just one hour later to watch live footage of a U.S. special forces operation to eliminate Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Arizona Democrat Party Chairman Felecia Rotellini: Trump “has aligned himself with ISIS”
Rotellini made the remarks on Saturday, approximately 1-hour before a Trump-authorized raid in northern Syria resulted in the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi pic.twitter.com/lyYraFg6Eq
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) October 29, 2019
Trump would go before the nation Sunday morning on television to confirm al-Baghdadi’s death.
And the president did not mince words in doing so, saying the Islamic State’s No. 1 — allegedly responsible for a laundry list of heinous war crimes — had died “like a dog” and “a coward.”
Twitter users, including the Arizona GOP, did not miss an opportunity to hammer Rotellini for her comments, calling out the ridiculousness of the claim and poking fun by posting a video of her remarks side-by-side with Trump announcing al-Baghdadi’s death.
BREAKING: @azdemparty chair @FeleciaForAZ falsely accuses @realDonaldTrump of “aligning himself with ISIS” an hour before @POTUS & top military officials met in the Situation Room to watch US special forces carry out a raid in Syria that led to the death of ISIS leader Baghdadi. pic.twitter.com/xRUVZzMb2U
— AZ Republican Party (@AZGOP) October 29, 2019
“If a Republican Party state chair had said this about President Obama, the media would have demanded their resignation,” an official Trump campaign Twitter account later commented.
Fellow panel guest Kelli Ward, chairwoman of the Arizona Republican Party, was quick to refute Rotellini’s comments.
“I have to say, that is not true. That is not true,” Ward interrupted, later telling The Daily Wire, “It is extremely disconcerting to hear the top Democrat in Arizona slander and malign an innocent person for being aligned with the world’s most evil terrorists, let alone the President of the United States.”
“Baseless statements like those made by the chair of the Arizona Democrat party are wildly irresponsible and not rooted in reality,” she added.
Trump would not focus Tuesday on the accusations himself, however, instead announcing the death of al-Baghdadi’s most likely successor, Abd ar-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli, in a separate U.S. special forces operation.
Rotellini’s ill-timed allegations against Trump seemed pointed at the recent, widely rebuked, decision of the president to withdraw a tripwire force of U.S. special forces from Syria, where they operated beside the Kurdish rebel forces largely responsible for the Islamic State’s deconstruction.
The Kurds, an ethnic minority widely despised by Islamic governments and terrorists in the region, immediately came under fire from Turkey in light of the U.S. withdrawal.
This Turkish assault, in turn, resulted in the escape of hundreds of Islamic State terrorists held prisoner by Kurdish rebels.
As a result, some politicians and outlets have suggested the decision amounted to an abandonment of U.S. allies for the purposes of appeasing Islamic Middle Eastern dictators and terrorists. However, a ceasefire was soon agreed upon with a bit of coercion from the Trump administration.
Of course, claims that this amounted to a secret alignment between Trump and the Islamic State are blatantly false.
The Western Journal has reached out to Rotellini for comment but has not yet received a response. We will update this article if and when we do.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
