President Donald Trump used a three-word phrase in his 9/11 memorial speech that had been swept under the rug by the previous administration.
During a memorial service in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, the President used a controversial catchphrase to describe the threat we faced 17 years ago, and the threat that our fighting men and women continued to hunt down for years afterward.
“Since September 11, nearly five-and-a-half million young Americans have enlisted in the United States armed forces,” Trump said to a mostly positive response. “Nearly 7,000 service members have died facing down the menace of radical Islamic terrorism.”
‘Radical Islamic terrorism.’
Been a long time since you heard anyone with enough spine to call out the actual threat that took down the World Trade Center towers in 2001, hasn’t it?
Trump in Shanksville talks of U.S. troops fighting “the menace of radical Islamic terrorism” — a controversial campaign catchphrase he didn’t use in last year’s 9/11 observance
— Geoff Bennett (@GeoffRBennett) September 11, 2018
Vice President Mike Pence buoyed those sentiments, referring to ‘radical Islamic terrorism’ twice in a speech of his own.
“Seventeen years ago today America fell under attack,” Pence stated. “Nineteen radical Islamic terrorists seized control of four commercial airlines to strike the centers of our economy our military and our national government.”
He later explained that the best way to honor the victims is “by doing everything in our power as a nation to prevent the evil of radical Islamic terrorism from ever reaching our shores again.”
Pence references ‘radical Islamic terrorism’ twice in 9/11 addresshttps://t.co/rDDmVubIYx
— POLITICO (@politico) September 11, 2018
Surely, liberals will lose their minds over the comments.
Even Trump had avoided using the phrase during his speech at the 9/11 ceremonies last year. But he certainly was willing to call a spade a spade on the campaign trail.
And as President, he has used some other interesting phrases to call out the menace of radical Islamic terrorism.
In May, he issued a statement regarding the horrific terrorist attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, calling the perpetrators “evil losers.”
President Donald Trump describes those behind the Manchester attack as “losers” https://t.co/UnWcqDZ35F pic.twitter.com/HEtS3hSGxy
— CNN (@CNN) May 23, 2017
During his first foreign trip as President, Trump sent a powerful message to the world that all nations must come together and defeat radical Islamic terrorism.
“Drive. Them. Out. Drive them out of your places of worship,” the president added. “Drive them out of your communities. Drive them out of your holy land, and drive them out of his Earth!”
By contrast, Barack Obama spent his eight years in office tiptoeing around any negative comments towards Islamist extremists. The phrase ‘radical Islamic extremism’ was taboo during that time, as he sought not to upset the terrorists.
“There’s no religious rationale that would justify in any way any of the things that they do,” Obama explained. “But what I have been careful about when I describe these issues is to make sure that we do not lump these murderers into the billion Muslims that exist around the world.”
You can’t bet the enemy until you successfully identify the enemy. Fortunately, we now have a President capable of doing that.
