'This is third world bulls***': Trump supporter and Navy SEAL hero who claims to have killed Osama bin Laden turns on the president over his plan for a military parade

  • President Donald Trump’s plan to hold a military parade is being criticized Thursday by the Navy SEAL who claims to have killed Osama bin Laden
  • Robert O’Neill was part of the successful SEAL Team 6 raid on the Pakistani compound used by bin Laden as a hiding spot in 2011 
  • He publicly broke with Trump over a plan to hold a procession in the nation’s capital featuring US military hardware 
  • ‘A military parade is third world bull****,’ O’Neill tweeted on Thursday 

President Donald Trump’s plan to hold a military parade in Washington, DC is being criticized Thursday by the Navy SEAL who claims to have killed Osama bin Laden.

Robert O’Neill, who was part of the successful SEAL Team 6 raid on the Pakistani compound used by bin Laden as a hiding spot in 2011, broke with Trump over a plan to hold a procession in the nation’s capital featuring US military hardware.

‘A military parade is third world bull****,’ O’Neill tweeted on Thursday.

‘We prepare. We deter. We fight. Stop this conversation.’

President Donald Trump’s plan to hold a military parade in Washington, DC is being criticized Thursday by Robert O'Neill, the Navy SEAL who claims to have killed Osama bin Laden. Trump and O'Neill are seen above at the White House after having dinner this past fall

President Donald Trump’s plan to hold a military parade in Washington, DC is being criticized Thursday by Robert O'Neill, the Navy SEAL who claims to have killed Osama bin Laden. Trump and O'Neill are seen above at the White House after having dinner this past fall

In a follow-up tweet, when someone mentioned that military parades were common in France and Russia, O’Neill replied: ‘Yes. Third World. If Russia or France were powerful enough to take over the world, they would. We are yet we don’t. That’s called First World.’

O’Neill, who has been a Trump supporter since the presidential campaign, had dinner with the president at the White House this past fall.

The two even took a picture together.

O’Neill is regarded as a national hero for his role in the bin Laden raid, although there is dispute as to whether he is the one who fired the fatal shots which killed the Al Qaeda leader.

O’Neill is regarded as a national hero for his role in the bin Laden raid, although there is dispute as to whether he is the one who fired the fatal shots which killed the Al Qaeda leader (above)
O’Neill (above) is regarded as a national hero for his role in the bin Laden raid, although there is dispute as to whether he is the one who fired the fatal shots which killed the Al Qaeda leader

O’Neill (right) is regarded as a national hero for his role in the bin Laden raid, although there is dispute as to whether he is the one who fired the fatal shots which killed the Al Qaeda leader (left)

O'Neill has been a Trump supporter since the presidential campaign. He is seen above at the White House in October with his wife, Jessica

O'Neill has been a Trump supporter since the presidential campaign. He is seen above at the White House in October with his wife, Jessica

He says that he was the one who took out bin Laden, but a conflicting account from a former SEAL Team 6 comrade in arms, Matt Bissonnette, claims that the arch-terrorist was killed by a number of SEALs after he was initially wounded.

The Pentagon has disavowed Bissonnette, who got in trouble because he failed to turn over the manuscript of his book to the Defense Department before it was published.

Bissonnette is also under investigation for allegedly revealing classified information, according to The Intercept.

Trump’s plan for a military procession even drew criticism from another supporter of the president, Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade.

On Fox & Friends, the show which Trump praises consistently, Kilmeade said on Thursday that a military parade would ‘seems like a waste of money.’

Trump’s defense secretary, Jim Mattis, defended his boss on Thursday, saying that the president’s desire for a parade was a reflection of his ‘respect’ and ‘affection’ for the armed forces.

Democrats ridiculed Trump after his plan for a parade was revealed on Tuesday.  

Trump’s plan for a military procession even drew criticism from another supporter, Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade (far right). On Fox & Friends, Kilmeade said that a military parade would ‘seems like a waste of money.’ Brian Doocy (far left) and Ainsley Earhardt (center) are also seen above

Trump’s plan for a military procession even drew criticism from another supporter, Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade (far right). On Fox & Friends, Kilmeade said that a military parade would ‘seems like a waste of money.’ Brian Doocy (far left) and Ainsley Earhardt (center) are also seen above

'I was stunned by it, to be quite honest,' California Rep. Jackie Speier said Tuesday on CNN. 'I mean, we have a Napoleon in the making here.'

Speier called the idea 'a waste of money.'

Minnesota Rep. Tim Walz, the highest ranking former enlisted soldier serving in Congress, said Tuesday night on MSNBC that the plan is 'the stupidest thing I've ever heard.'

Servicemen and women shouldn't be asked to showcase 'whatever the president's ego is trying to do. That is a terrible idea,' he said.

California Rep. Ted Lieu, among the most liberal members of the House and a constant thorn in the president's side, called the parade plan 'a waste of money for one man's ego' on CNN.

'You know what would be more useful than asking the Pentagon to waste money on a big military parade?' Lieu tweeted after the broadcast.

'Basically anything.'

Washington Rep. Rick Larsen rushed to Twitter with a photograph showing one mostly empty section of the reviewing stands along Trump's Inaugural Parade route.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders (left) and Defense Secretary James Mattis (right) both downplayed the possibility of a military parade last Wednesday

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders (left) and Defense Secretary James Mattis (right) both downplayed the possibility of a military parade on Wednesday

'There was already a #TrumpParade in DC,' he tweeted. 'Not very well attended the first time, would be a waste of Pentagon time and resources the second time.'

Trump has asked the Pentagon to plan a grand parade of the U.S. armed forces in Washington this year to celebrate military strength, officials said Tuesday.

The Washington Post, which was first to report the plan, said Trump wants an elaborate parade with soldiers marching and tanks rolling, but no date has been selected.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed the request Tuesday evening.

She said Trump wants the Pentagon to 'explore a celebration' that will allow Americans to show appreciation for the military.

But on Wednesday at the White House, she said that 'nothing has been decided, and it's literally in a brain-storming session.'

 First Lady Melania (second from left) and President Trump are seen in attendance at a military procession in Paris during last July. Trump reportedly got the idea for a military parade during this visit to France

 First Lady Melania (second from left) and President Trump are seen in attendance at a military procession in Paris during last July. Trump reportedly got the idea for a military parade during this visit to France

Trump is seen second from left standing next to French President Emmanuel Macron. First Lady Melania Trump is seen far left. Macron's wife, Brigitte Trogneux, is seen far right 

Trump is seen second from left standing next to French President Emmanuel Macron. First Lady Melania Trump is seen far left. Macron's wife, Brigitte Trogneux, is seen far right 

'We haven't made a final decision,' she told reporters.

Muscular military parades of the kind that are common in authoritarian countries like China and North Korea are not quintessentially American.

The US traditionally has not embraced showy displays of raw military power, such as North Korea's parading of ballistic missiles as a claim of international prestige and influence.

US military members commonly participate in parades on the Fourth of July and other holidays to mark appreciation and remembrance of military veterans, but these typically do not include gaudy displays of military hardware.

Last September, at a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Trump announced his idea of staging a grand parade of the armed forces in Washington on July 4.

Trump reminisced about watching France's Bastille Day military parade when he visited Paris in July.

He said the two-hour parade was a 'tremendous thing for France and for the spirit of France,' and said he wanted one on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington that would be grander than the one he saw in Paris.   

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