Born Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri al-Samarrai in Samarra, Iraq, al-Baghdadi deserved it. He was a mass murderer, a serial rapist and pedophile, and had waged war against America. He had led ISIL since June 29, 2014. He was 48 years old.
Unlike Barack Obama with Osama bin Laden on May 1, 2011. Naturally, Trump's 50-minute speech on the matter made it sound like al-Baghdadi was a bigger kill than bin Laden. Trump had this desperate need to be seen as bigger and better than Obama. Mainly because, the day before bin Laden was killed, Obama both released his birth certificate and humiliated Trump at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.
bin Laden killed a hell of a lot more Americans than al-Baghdadi did. What's more, Trump said that nobody knew who bin Laden was before 9/11. This is a lie. There were news reports about his terrorist activities as early as 1996. In 1998, when al-Qaeda bombed 2 U.S. Embassies in Africa, it was known and publicized that bin Laden ordered it.
In contrast, I never heard of al-Baghdadi until the night he was killed. I literally never knew he was alive until I knew he was dead. ISIL/ISIS, sure, everyone's heard of them. And nearly every American had no problem with our military killing their leader. But ask any American to name their leader before October 27, 2019, and they would draw a blank. Come to think of it, most Americans would have trouble naming their leader after that date.
That would be Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi. On February 3, 2022, a U.S. raid on Atme, Syria sealed his fate. Unlike al-Baghdadi, he refused to be taken alive: He set off a bomb, killing himself and 12 others, including members of his family. There were no U.S. casualties. He was 45. He was succeeded by his brother, Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi.
(UPDATE: He lasted 8 months. On November 30, 2022, after this posting, ISIL announced that, like Abu Ibrahim, Abu al-Hasan blew himself up to avoid a sure capture by U.S. forces. His age is not known to the U.S. He was succeeded by Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi, apparently another brother. On April 29, 2023, Turkish intelligence tracked him down and killed him. His age was also unknown. He was succeeded by yet another brother, Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi.)
Back to October 27, 2019: That night, Trump went to Game 5 of the World Series, at Nationals Park, 2 miles from the White House. The host Washington Nationals had never asked him to throw out the ceremonial first ball before a game, and this game was no exception. The team's choice was Washington-based celebrity chef José Andrés, an immigrant from Spain whom Obama had once awarded a National Humanities Medal for his charity work.
Trump took Melania to the game. He did not take Barron, his 13-year-old son who is a known sports fan.
The World Series was 2 miles from his house, and he had tickets, and he didn't take his 13-year-old son.
Yeah, sure, it's a school night. I think a note from the President of the United States would carry some weight.
Well, it would, if it were any other President.
When a group of veterans was shown on the scoreboard, the sellout crowd of 43,910 cheered them. When the image shifted to Trump, it was about 60-40 boos, and the boos were louder than the cheers. Fans chanted, "Lock him up!" The scoreboard operator had to switch back to the camera on the veterans, and the crowd went back to cheering.
Nobody booed Franklin Roosevelt on D-Day. Nobody booed John F. Kennedy after he solved the Cuban Missile Crisis. Nobody booed Obama after he ordered the bin Laden raid. Even George W. Bush didn't start getting booed until well after that dumb "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" stunt.
This was Trump's best day as President, and he got the hell booed out of him, anyway.
The truth hurts, doesn't it, Donald? In fact, on this day, the Number 1 song in America was "Truth Hurts," by Melissa Viviane Jefferson, a.k.a. Lizzo. A strong, outspoken black woman. He's not a fan.
The Nationals, Champions of the National League, lost the game, 7-1, to the American League Champions, the Houston Astros. But the Nationals went on to win the Series in Game 7, in Houston, 3 nights later.
And their fans booed Trump on his best day as President. Washington Nationals fans, you have my thanks forever.
Thirteen days later, in college football, Louisiana State University played the University of Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. LSU was ranked Number 2 in the country, 'Bama was Number 3. With his never-ending need for praise, Trump figured, surely, at a football game, in the South, he would get cheered by the fans. So he went. And he was cheered.
Alabama hadn't lost at home in 4 years. They lost, 46-41, but still went on to win the Southeastern Conference and National Championships.
*
October 27, 2019 was a Sunday. Obviously, that was the only baseball game played that day. These were the day's NFL games:
* The New York Jets lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars, 29-15 at TIAA Bank Field (now EverBank Stadium) in Jacksonvillle.
* The Los Angeles Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 24-10 at Wembley Stadium in London.
* The New England Patriots beat the Cleveland Browns, 27-13 at Gillette Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.
* The Seattle Seahawks beat the Atlanta Falcons, 27-20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
* The Tennessee Titans beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 27-23 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.
* The New Orleans Saints beat the Arizona Cardinals, 31-9 at the Superdome in New Orleans.
* The Houston Texans beat the Oakland Raiders, 27-24 at NRG Stadium (as Reliant Stadium was then known) in Houston.
* The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Buffalo Bills, 31-13 at New Era Field (formerly Rich Stadium and Ralph Wilson Stadium) in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, New York.
* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Miami Dolphins, 27-14 at Heinz Field (now Acrisure Stadium) in Pittsburgh.
* The Indianapolis Colts beat the Denver Broncos, 15-13 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
* The Los Angeles Chargers beat the Chicago Bears, 17-16 at the new Soldier Field in Chicago.
* The Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 31-24 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
* And the San Francisco 49ers beat the Carolina Panthers, 51-13 at Levi's Stadium in the San Francisco suburb of Santa Clara, California.
(The next day, on ESPN Monday Night Football, the Detroit Lions beat the New York Giants, 31-26 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The preceding Thursday, the Minnesota Vikings beat the Washington Redskins, 19-9 at FedEx Field -- now Northwest Stadium -- in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland. And the Baltimore Ravens and the Dallas Cowboys had a bye.)
There were 5 games played in the NBA that day:
* The Brooklyn Nets lost to the Memphis Grizzlies, 134-133 in overtime at the FedEx Forum in Memphis. (The New York Knicks were not scheduled.)
* The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Miami Heat, 116-109 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.
* The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Golden State Warriors, 120-92 at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
* The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Dallas Mavericks, 121-119 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
* And the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Charlotte Hornets, 120-101 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.
And there were 7 games played in the NHL:
* In an "Original Six" matchup, the New York Rangers lost to the Boston Bruins, 7-4 at Madison Square Garden.
* The New York Islanders beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-3 at the Nassau Coliseum.
* The Ottawa Senators beat the San Jose Sharks, 5-2 at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa.
* The St. Louis Blues beat the Detroit Red Wings, 5-4 at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. David Perron scored the winning goal, 1:28 into overtime.
* The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Los Angeles Kings, 5-1 at the United Center in Chicago.
* The Vegas Golden Knights beat the Anaheim Ducks, 5-2 at the T-Mobile Arena in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada.
* And the Florida Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers, 6-2 at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
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