SAY WHAT? Princess Di, Elvis, Martin Luther King — and Soleimani

Editor’s Note: Say What? is the segment of Liberty Nation Radio where we unveil some of the most wacky, astonishing, and damnable things uttered by politicians and the chattering class.

Tim Donner: Well, it was bound to happen now, wasn't it? For 40 years, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been taunting us, starting with a seizure of 52 hostages in 1979 and shouting, literally and figuratively, "Death to America," even after they were supposedly assuaged with billions in cash from President Barack Obama in the Iran nuclear deal, which was later deep-sixed by Trump. And when terrorists commanded by the highest-ranking Iranian military officer, Qassem Soleimani, attacked the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, a couple of weeks ago, enough was finally enough. Trump launched a precision drone strike, vaporizing Soleimani and four of his terrorist cohorts in a stunning display of American military might. A couple of days later, Iran retaliated by launching missiles at a military base in Iraq where some American troops were stationed, but they got an early warning, and no one was killed.

Reaction was swift, broad, and mostly, but not entirely, predictable around D.C. Reacting to the president's nationally televised speech -- in which Trump explained the long march of death perpetrated by the mullahs of Iran, why he executed Soleimani, and his ultimate plan to draw the Iranians to the bargaining table -- longtime Republican war hawk Senator Lindsey Graham (SC) was resplendent in his praise for that speech.

Lindsey Graham: The president made a very bold decision today to allow things to calm down. This speech will be talked about long after his second term. This is on par with, "Tear down this wall, Mr. Gorbachev." This is resetting the relationship between the world and Iran, just not the United States. The president said there's an evil empire in Iran that's bent on destroying the world, killing the people in Israel, and coming after us, and I will no longer tolerate it.

Tim: But not all Republicans were on board with the explanations offered by Trump officials on why the execution of Soleimani was carried out. After a briefing on it, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), usually a big supporter of the president, was incensed.

Mike Lee: Probably the worst briefing I've seen, at least on a military issue, in the nine years I've served in the United States Senate. One of the messages we received from the briefers was, do not debate, do not discuss the issue of the appropriateness of further military intervention against Iran.

Tim: So there was some legitimate opposition within the GOP, not on the fact of the killing of Soleimani, but in how it was justified to Congress.

But on the left, the reaction was universal condemnation of Trump. Of course, it was. And just like when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) ran to the cameras to announce the impeachment of Trump before she even saw the transcript of that call that led to impeachment and was embarrassed when Trump released it the next day, the Dems’ presidential frontrunner, Joe Biden, immediately went to the cameras and condemned the commander in chief, not even waiting for Trump to address the nation the next day.

Joe Biden: We have not heard a sober-minded explanation to reassure the American people that this decision and its consequences were thought through. No level-headed words meant to dial down the tensions and to take us off the path of conflict. No press conference or consultation with our Congress. No. What we've heard so far from this president are tweets, threats, and tantrums.

Tim: So, of course, the next day, the president announces that hostilities with Iran had ceased, at least for the time being. But if you thought it was bad enough that the leftists were attacking the president instead of the mass murderer he vanquished, hold your breath and listen to Chris Matthews on MSNBC and a reporter for The New York Times equate Soleimani to, well, just listen.

Chris Matthews: When Princess Diana died, for example, there was a huge emotional outpouring. Elvis Presley, in our culture. It turns out that this general we killed was a beloved hero of the Iranian people to the point where, look at the people, we've got pictures of them now, these enormous crowds coming out. There's no American emotion in this case, but there's a hell of a lot of emotion on the other side.

NY Times reporter Farnaz Fassihi: What you're describing feels like the kind of unified national outpouring that is reserved for a small handful of figures in any country, right? I mean, a beloved president, a civil rights leader like Martin Luther King.

Tim: A mass murderer compared by the leftist, Trump-deranged media to Princess Di, Elvis, and Martin Luther King. You wouldn't believe it if I hadn't played it for you, would you?

Finally, as leftists are exposed far and wide for their nihilism and hypocrisy, Hollywood has continued to pour forth its usual array of filth and left-wing anti-American content. But finally, finally, someone in its own ranks has called Hollywood out for all to see. Actor Ricky Gervais, hosting the nationally televised Golden Globe Awards for the final time, ripped his Hollywood compatriots from end to end.

Ricky Gervais: Talking to all you perverts, it was a big year. It was a big year for pedophile movies … Many talented people of color were snubbed in major categories. Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about that. The Hollywood foreign press are all very, very racist … So we were going to do an in memoriam this year, but when I saw the list of people that had died, it wasn't diverse enough. No. It was mostly white people … Spoiler alert, season two [of Gervais’ Netflix program After Life] is on the way. So in the end, he obviously didn't kill himself. Just like Jeffrey Epstein. Shut up. I know he's your friend, but I don't care … Well, you say you're woke, but the companies you work for, I mean, unbelievable. Apple, Amazon, Disney. If ISIS started a streaming service, you'd call your agent. Wouldn't you? So if you do win an award tonight, don't use it as a platform to make a political speech, right? You're in no position to lecture the public about anything. You know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg.

Tim: It's amazing the truths you're willing to speak when you just don't care.

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