On the very day that Hillary Clinton’s emails dominated the headlines (with FBI Director James Comey saying charges wouldn’t be referred against her), Donald Trump took the stage at a rally and….praised former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein.
This is what he said, at the July 5 rally in North Carolina:
Saddam Hussein was a bad guy, right? He was a bad guy. Really bad guy. But you know what he did well? He killed terrorists. He did that so well. They didn’t read them rights. They didn’t talk. They were a terrorist, it was over. Today, Iraq is Harvard for terrorists. You want to be a terrorist, you go to Iraq. It’s like Harvard, OK? So sad.
Praising Saddam? Some on the Internet had a field day with that, especially since Saddam’s human rights abuses are well known, including his gassing of the Kurdish people:
Of all days, why does Trump have to praise Saddam Hussein TODAY?! 😳
Hey guys remember I told you five hours ago Trump would screw up this day somehow? Praising Saddam Hussein. He did it.
Reince Prebius watching Donald Trump praise Saddam Hussein
It turns out, though, that praising Saddam is something Trump has done before. In fact, in March, he used almost the same line, according to the Independent, saying of Saddam:
He was very good at killing terrorists. Now, Iraq is the Harvard for terrorism.
What’s even more amazing is that it’s not the first time he’s done it. t.co/J6hXW7CQBf
Indeed, Trump has made variations of the point many times. Examples: