A GOP congresswoman claimed at a rally that Donald Trump "caught" Osama bin Laden when, in well-documented reality, the September 11 terrorist was killed under Barack Obama.
The gaffe was made by Michigan Republican Lisa McClain ahead of Trump’s rally in the state on the weekend as she compared his leadership to current president Joe Biden.
"While President Trump was in office, we didn’t have a war and I think he made three peace treaties," Ms McClain, endorsed by Trump in 2020, said during her speech.
"Caught Osama bin Laden and Soleimani, al-Baghdadi. And this president is weak. And I’ll tell you weakness breeds aggression. We need strength."
While Trump did oversee the assassination of Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani in 2020 and Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in October 2019, he was busy hosting The Apprentice when bin Laden was killed in Pakistan in 2011.
Ms McClain indicated on Monday that it was a simple error not dissimilar to the current president, who himself comes under scrutiny for gaffes like mistaking Ukrainians as "Iranian people" during the State of the Union or calling for regime change in Russia, which his administration later walked back.
"Joe Biden misspeaks every single day and the media pays no attention to it. Isn’t it ironic how I’m under attack for an honest mistake," Ms McClain tweeted.
Biden was in the room with Obama as then-vice president during the operation to kill bin Laden on 2 May 2011.
Two weeks after the successful Seal Team 6 operation, Trump formally bowed out of the 2012 US presidential election race to stick with his "greatest passion" of business and the next season of The Apprentice.
"This decision does not come easily or without regret, especially when my potential candidacy continues to be validated by ranking at the top of the Republican contenders in polls across the country."
The decision came after Trump’s sustained “birtherism” battle over the citizenship of Obama, a since-debunked theory that began during the 2008 Democratic presidential primary campaign against Hillary Clinton.
A few weeks after Obama released his US birth certificate, Trump received a roasting at the White House correspondents’ dinner.
"No one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than The Donald," Obama said.
“And that’s because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter, like, did we fake the moon landing? What really happened in Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?”
