Speaker 1: The United States, under the orders of President Joe Biden, has executed a strike
which killed Al Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who worked closely with Osama bin Laden in the
911 attacks. And naturally, right wingers are desperately trying to downplay and dismiss this
event, which were it, under a Republican president. They would be demanding that
the president be enshrined in some kind of gold plated statue. That's what they would be doing if
it were Trump who would announce this. And it's an incredible contrast that we've seen over the
last 24, 36, 72 hours, where on the one hand, the Biden administration strikes a 911 terrorist, a
major person on the global wanted list. And on the other hand, Donald Trump quite literally downplays
taking Saudi money in this golf tournament that was played an event being played at Bedminster,
his golf course, and says, bizarrely, nobody's gotten to the bottom of 911. Think about that.
In the same weekend, in the same three four day period, former President Donald Trump
kowtowing to the conspiracy theorists with nobody's gotten to the bottom of 911. Whereas
on the other hand, Joe Biden authorizes a strike that kills one of the major actors in those 911
attacks. Now, before we get into the right wingers falling all over themselves to criticize Joe
Biden, I think it's important to mention that any serious progressive who respects the rule
of law and due process and all of the stuff that the right claims to respect but actually doesn't.
Reasonable progressives can be generally concerned about what is exactly the legal infrastructure for
when the U.S. strikes these individuals in other countries. They aren't getting due process. That's
absolutely true. And while I, on a personal level, have no doubt whatsoever, based on everything that
we've seen and read about Ayman al-Zawahiri, that this guy was guilty, that is my personal
opinion. And he didn't get due process. And of course, you can argue, well, this is technically
part of a wartime situation that dates all the way back. Well, but that's complicated, too,
so I'm not downplaying that at all. That's not why the right wingers are angry. That's not at all
why the right wingers are angry. So let's let's first start with the announcement from Joe Biden.
Speaker 2: Make it clear again tonight that no matter how long it takes, no matter where you
hide, if you are a threat to our people, the United States will find you and take you out.
After relentlessly seeking Zawahiri for years under Presidents Bush, Obama and Trump.
Our intelligence community located Zawahiri earlier this year,
had moved to downtown Kabul to reunite with members of his immediate family.
After carefully considering clear and convincing evidence of his location.
I authorized a precision strike that would remove him from the battlefield once and for all.
This mission was carefully planned, rigorously minimize the risk of harm to other civilians.
And one week ago, after being advised that the conditions were optimal,
I gave the final approval to go get him. And the mission was a success. None of his family members
were hurt and there were no civilian casualties. Speaker 1: Okay. So that's the announcement from
Joe Biden. You would think that the right would rally around this. What a patriotic big boy that
Joe Biden did. But now here is Tucker Carlson saying, you know, Biden's bragging about killing
this al Qaeda leader. I don't feel any safer if a speech boasting that he's killed an Al Qaida
figure in Afghanistan. Great. Feel safer? Of course you don't. Nobody does. And the reason
nobody feels safer is that Tucker Carlson is friends with Donald Trump. Is Biden's
response to the disaster in Afghanistan. Oh. Rather than pause and learn from it,
maybe fire the people responsible for not simply the self-destructive withdrawal from Afghanistan,
but also the pointless 20 year war there, rather than do any of that like a normal person would
do. Biden immediately set off in another direction, provoking yet another conflict,
this one in Eastern Europe. So look at this. Biden authorizes a strike that kills the 911
leader. And Tucker says, I don't feel any safer because of Biden's withdrawal from Afghanistan,
which is identical to what Trump's withdrawal from Afghanistan would have been. And he blames Biden
for provoking Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Reeks of desperation. Senate Minority Leader
Kevin McCarthy posting to Twitter. We owe a debt of gratitude to the brave Americans
who took out the terrorist al-Zawahiri. The Biden administration must provide Congress with a brief.
As soon as possible to discuss the resurgence of al Qaeda in the region following his disastrous
withdrawal from Afghanistan. So Biden Biden not getting any of the credit from McCarthy. Trump,
of course, would have had McCarthy praying at an altar to him. And then Newsmax taking the dementia
approach and the Colbert approach saying, well, okay, instead of talking about the substance of
this terrorists being killed. Newsmax cuts in and says Biden seems confused and sick.
Speaker 2: Now justice has been delivered and this terrorist leader is no more.
People around the world no longer need to fear the vicious and determined killer.
The United States continues to demonstrate our resolve and our capacity to defend the American
people against those who seek to do us harm. Speaker 1: All right. So we told you we'd jump
in and show you some of this. The president at the White House, the big speech. He's got COVID
again. He got the recurring case of the rebound case, I guess. But they brought him out. They
gave him a teleprompter. Didn't seem too familiar with the speech. It seems a bit a bit off base,
but maybe he's still sick. Let's go now to chief White House correspondent now. That's
actually kind of funny how they dismissed the entire substance and instead go with like,
oh, Biden has COVID again. If this were Donald Trump, Newsmax would be due 24 hours of coverage
with Trump, you know, looking victorious and as alpha as Trump can possibly look. So immediately
downplaying all of it, reasonable concerns for progressives about all of these types
of killings. But the right just desperate, desperate not to give Biden any kind of win,
even by their standards, is the important point that I would make