Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the Islamic caliphate in Syria, has allegedly been killed via suicide bombing in a special raid by U.S. armed forces, and President Donald Trump cannot stop raving about it.
"He was a sick and depraved man and now he's dead," Mr. Trump told police chiefs during a speech in Chicago. "He's dead, he's dead as a door nail. And he didn't die bravely either, I will tell you that. He should have been killed years ago. Another president should have gotten him."
Republicans all over have rallied around the good news, which could not have come at a better time given talk of Trump's impeachment over the abuse of presidential power. There is also heightened tension over the fact that Trump deserted the Syrian Kurds, and given that this particular raid has the power to become a major symbol of national pride during the elections over the next year, the former issue may simply be buried under the latter.
What's more is that on Tuesday, there was further news of Baghdadi's successor being eliminated as well.
"Just confirmed that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's number one replacement has been terminated by American troops. Most likely would have taken the top spot - Now he is also Dead!" the president tweeted.
That said, the political impact of such an event is questionable. Using Obama's political journey as a proxy, when Obama announced the death of bin Laden, who was arguably more notorious than Baghdadi, his approval ratings increased only for a temporary amount of time, and subsequently decreased back to the average. Moreover, Trump's impeachment prospects have not completely fizzed out yet, and there is still a very real chance that will come to the forefront to douse the nationalist fire currently fueling his campaign.
There is also a chance that Trump will somehow ruin his own chances by overblowing this issue and saying too much: "We agonized over what we would put in his briefings," one former senior White House official said, "because who knows if and when he's going to say something about it."
"He has no filter," the official added. "But also if he knows something, and he thinks it's going to be good to say or make him appear smarter or stronger, he'll just blurt it out."