Karl Rove: Trump's description of al-Baghdadi death was 'good,' reminds world of ISIS' evil
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Karl Rove on Monday touted President Trump’s victory in the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, pushing back on critics of the language the commander-in-chief used during his announcement of ISIS leader's demise.
“His description is good. To describe who this guy is to the people -- to the west -- [is] to remind us of the evil that they (ISIS) represent. On the other hand, the most important thing was we killed him,” Rove told “Fox & Friends.”
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The ISIS leader's death came during a successful U.S. military operation in northwest Syria Saturday night that took roughly two hours.
Trump described al-Baghdadi as dying "in a vicious and violent way, as a coward, running and crying.” “He died like a dog, he died like a coward,” Trump said in an address to the nation Sunday morning.
Rove, a former senior adviser to President George W. Bush who served during the day of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, said the president's words were a message not only to Americans but to would-be terrorists around the world.
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“The terrorists are not going to pay attention to the president’s words, but they pay a lot of attention to America’s actions," Rove said. "And the death of Baghdadi has got to shake that organization from top to bottom.”
ISIS LEADER AL-BAGHDADI CONFIRMED DEAD AFTER APPARENT SUICIDE DURING U.S. OPERATION: SOURCES
The Islamic State leader detonated an explosive vest as U.S. Special Operations Forces stormed his compound in the Idrib Province. Trump said he died whimpering at the back of a dead-end tunnel and had been under surveillance for weeks.
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“The most important thing was not what the president said but what the president ordered to be done in terms of ISIS itself. It was a great action,” Rove said.
Fox News' Ronn Blitzer contributed to this report.