CNN national security analyst embarrasses herself trying to dunk on Trump over Taliban comment

[rebelmouse-proxy-image https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/cnn-national-security-analyst-embarrasses-herself-trying-to-dunk-on-trump-over-taliban-comment.jpg?id=53627301&width=600&height=600&coordinates=193,0,149,0 crop_info="%7B%22image%22%3A%20%22https%3A//www.theblaze.com/media-library/cnn-national-security-analyst-embarrasses-herself-trying-to-dunk-on-trump-over-taliban-comment.jpg%3Fid%3D53627301%26width%3D600%26height%3D600%26coordinates%3D193%2C0%2C149%2C0%22%7D" expand=1]

CNN national security analyst Juliette Kayyem, a lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School, was among the droves of liberals who rushed to social media this week to ridicule former President Donald Trump over factual claims he made in Tuesday's debate.

Kayyem's experience working in the Obama administration and serving as a member of the National Commission on Terrorism failed to prepare her for the task of dunking on Trump. She suggested that Trump's accurate identification of a founding member of the Taliban present for the U.S.-Taliban peace talks in Doha was a clear indication of his "racism and senility."

Having taken her shot and missed, the CNN analyst is now facing widespread ridicule.

What Kayyem said

The CNN analyst wrote on X, "It's such a minor point but I cannot stop thinking that Trump casually calling the head of Taliban 'Abdul' is a perfect mix of his ignorance, racism and senility in just a single word."

'You cannot be this stupid.'

It appears Kayyem suffered the same short-term memory loss as MSNBC's Chris Hayes, who concluded that Trump "invented a head of the Taliban named Abdul."

"It's not the name of the head of the Taliban," continued Hayes. "Just to be clear, he just like randomly named him."

What Kayyem (and Hayes) failed to understand

During the debate Tuesday, Kamala Harris was asked whether she bears any blame for her administration's disastrous and deadly Afghanistan withdrawal, which she previously boasted signing off on.

Harris once again displaced accountability, intimating the withdrawal was ill-fated on account of Trump's previous negotiations with the Taliban.

Trump said in response:

I got involved with the Taliban because the Taliban was doing the killing. That's the fighting force within Afghanistan. They don't bother doing that because you know, they deal with the wrong people all the time. But I got involved. And Abdul is the head of the Taliban. He is still the head of the Taliban. And I told Abdul don't do it anymore, you do it anymore you're going to have problems. And he said why do you send me a picture of my house? I said you're going to have to figure that out, Abdul. And for 18 months we had nobody killed. We did have an agreement negotiated by Mike Pompeo. It was a very good agreement.

The 2020 deal in Doha was signed by U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban political chief Abdul Ghani Baradar, reported the BBC.

Abdul Ghani Baradar is a founding member of the Taliban. Once the Taliban took over Afghanistan, Baradar became deputy prime minister. He remains among the top four leaders in the Taliban.

Trump made clear at the time of the deal with Baradar, "If bad things happen, we'll go back with a force like no one's ever seen."

The Biden-Harris administration dropped the ball on the talks initiated by Trump officials and let the Taliban overwhelm friendly Afghan forces in the late phases of American withdrawal.

What people are saying

Critics seized upon Kayyem's tweet, questioning the value of the education that Harvard Kennedy School students might receive in her classes as well as the CNN analyst's ability to run a simple Google search.

Australian political commentator Rita Panahi responded to Kayyeem, tweeting, "You cannot be this stupid."

American country musician John Rich wrote, "A 'national security analyst' as it says in her profile, doesn't realize that the founder of the Taliban, is in fact named, 'Abdul.' Full name is Abdul Ghani Baradar. Hard to believe the complete ignorance of the people in 'control' right now. Wow."

"The co-founder of the Taliban is Abdul Ghani Baradar, you emotionally stunted, Cluster B trainwreck," tweeted the Redheaded Libertarian.

Entrepreneur Nate Fischer, the CEO of New Founding, said, "The Harvard Kennedy School attracts an exceptional combo of stupid + arrogant. Some of the most insufferable people I have encountered in my life."

This is not the first time that Kayyem has given critics cause to doubt her stability or the value of her insights.

She told the Advocate last year that Chaya Raichik's use of her Libs of TikTok account on X was a prime example of "stochastic terrorism."

Kayyem suggested in 2022 that the Biden-Harris administration should halt immigration enforcement in the region of Texas where the Uvalde school shooting took place because of its large Hispanic population.

During the Freedom Convoy in Canada, when truckers were protesting the Canadian government's draconian COVID-19 vaccine mandates and travel restrictions, Kayyem recommended that authorities "slash the tires, empty gas tanks, arrest the drivers and move the trucks." The CNN analyst got her way when the Trudeau regime unconstitutionally invoked martial law to crush the protests.

In 2021, Kayyem melted down over a Southwest pilot saying, "Let's go Brandon," over a plane intercom. She demanded the pilot be fired and that every passenger file a complaint with the FAA.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

CNN analyst demands Biden halt immigration enforcement in region of Texas school massacre: 'Political issues in Texas'



CNN national security analyst Juliette Kayyem suggested Tuesday that President Joe Biden halt immigration enforcement in the region of Texas where the latest school massacre took place.

Wait, what?

Kayyem, who served as assistant secretary of Homeland Security in the Obama administration, pointed to the large Hispanic population in and near Uvalde, Texas, as reason why Biden should take such action.

"The most important thing for the federal government to do right now is to say there will be no immigration enforcement during this period in that area," Kayyem said on CNN. "It has a large immigration [sic] population. You want parents with their kids, you don’t want people hiding right now, and we need to make that clear ASAP."

According to U.S. Census data, nearly three-quarters of the population in Uvalde County is Hispanic, while as many as 90% of students in Uvalde CISD are Hispanic, data show.

Kayyem said "political issues in Texas" necessitate such a decision from the White House. Kayyem did not clarify to what issues she was referring, though perhaps she was invoking a caricature that Republicans are anti-immigrant.

In the wake of the school shooting in Texas, former DHS officials turned CNN flack Juliette Kayyem demands Biden suspend immigration enforcement in the area of Uvalde "because of the political issues in Texas." pic.twitter.com/CklazaVzVm
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) May 24, 2022


"Again, I don’t know motives, we don’t know motives. I am just telling you demographics. It is a predominantly Hispanic population with a large immigrant community relatively near San Antonio," Kayyem later added.

In fact, not only should the Biden administration halt immigration enforcement, but Kayyem said Biden should declare the area a "safe harbor."

"We need the federal government to say right now, everyone is essentially safe harbor right now in terms of immigration status," she demanded. "We need people to come forward, not to be fearful of immigration status, get their kids, get their family members.

"Because what happens in incidents like this is when we’re going to have a strong police presence, a strong federal presence, we know this: a lot of people do not react — especially if their status is unknown — do not react to police presence as you or I may," she claimed.

"We want to make sure that they know, despite all the politics going on in Texas right now, it’s the federal government that’s in charge of immigration enforcement, and people are safe," she went on to say. "Get your kids, get your families together — do not hide. The White House just needs to say that right now."

A few minutes later, Kayyem doubles down:
"We need the federal government to say right now, everyone is essentially safe harbor right now in terms of immigration status."
Again, she suggests it's because of "all the politics going on in Texas right now" dealing with immigration. pic.twitter.com/oYouvMmkh6
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) May 24, 2022

Anything else?

Kayyem's underlying assumption — that a large Hispanic population means there is a large population of immigrants in the U.S. illegally — is an offensive idea and probably wrong.

In fact, according to Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin (R) the Hispanic community is outraged over the border crisis and flood of illegal immigration.

"The Hispanic community is fed up with this. We have a lot of great Hispanic families in our community, and their parents came over the right way," he said Saturday on Fox News.

"We just keep flooding [immigrants] over and over, and the Hispanic community is fed up with it," he added.

Texas mayor rips Biden: Hispanic community ‘fed up with it’ www.youtube.com

Obama-era official calls for the unvaccinated to be placed on a no-fly list



A former assistant secretary for homeland security who served under President Obama is suggesting that unvaccinated people should be placed on a no-fly list by the federal government.

Juliette Kayyem argues in a piece published on The Atlantic that placing the unvaccinated on a no-fly list would serve to curb the spread of the coronavirus and could lead more people to get vaccinated.

She wrote that "a no-fly list for unvaccinated adults is an obvious step that the federal government should take. It will help limit the risk of transmission at destinations where unvaccinated people travel—and, by setting norms that restrict certain privileges to vaccinated people, will also help raise the stagnant vaccination rates that are keeping both the economy and society from fully recovering."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 58.3 percent of the U.S. population ages 12 and over has been fully vaccinated, while 67.9 percent has received at least one dose.

"The public debate about making vaccination a precondition for travel, employment, and other activities has described this approach as vaccine mandates, a term that, to conservative critics, suggests that unvaccinated people are being ordered around arbitrarily. What is actually going on, mostly, is that institutions are shifting burdens to unvaccinated people—denying them access to certain spaces, requiring them to take regular COVID-19 tests, charging them for the cost of that testing—rather than imposing greater burdens on everyone. Americans still have a choice to go unvaccinated, but that means giving up on certain societal benefits," Kayyem wrote. "Amid a global health crisis, people who defy public-health guidance are not, and do not deserve to be, a protected class."

According to the Harvard Kennedy School of Government website, Kayyem "is currently the Senior Belfer Lecturer in International Security at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, where she is faculty chair of the Homeland Security and Security and Global Health Projects."

Conservative commentator Allie Beth Stuckey, host of "Relatable," commented about the idea of banning the unvaccinated from flights: "This has nothing to do with a virus with a 99% survival rate & everything to do with people looking for an excuse for authoritarianism and finally found it," she tweeted.

“Unvaccinated people belong on the no-fly list.” This has nothing to do with a virus with a 99% survival rate & eve… https://t.co/On8beFyuMb

— Allie Beth Stuckey (@conservmillen) 1628108105.0

CNN analyst says Trump is the 'leader of a terrorist organization'



A CNN national security analyst on Tuesday called President Donald Trump the "leader of a terrorist organization," calling for the "complete isolation" of a president 74 million Americans voted for in the 2020 election.

Juliette Kayyem, a lecturer at Harvard University and former member of the Obama administration's Homeland Security Advisory Council, appeared on a CNN panel with Jim Sciutto and Poppy Harlow, during which she made the case that Trump is the "spiritual" and "operational" leader of a "domestic terrorism effort."

"Trump is the spiritual, but I will also say operational leader of this domestic terrorism effort. He tells them where to go. He tells them what to do. He tells them why they're angry," Kayyem charged.

"Trump is the spiritual leader for domestic terrorists and he is their operational leader. He tells them what to do… https://t.co/xaREVClYNu
— Juliette Kayyem (@Juliette Kayyem)1610466749.0

She argued that the United States government needs to begin a counterterrorism effort against elements of the president's supporters who participated in the violent riots at the Capitol building Jan. 6, during which five people died, and that such an effort requires going after Trump first.

"And so we need to start at the top, like any counterterrorism effort, which is total isolation of the president of the United States. Impeachment, yes. 25th Amendment, yes. Deplatforming, yes. All of the above. No money. No access to campaign funds," Kayyem said.

She called for Trump's "complete isolation" because Trump, "as the leader of a terrorist organization," will have a more difficult time recruiting followers if he is "viewed as a loser."

"He's going to have his radical elements. We will arrest them, we will isolate them. But what we have to make sure is that Donald Trump does not have a second act. I know I sound incredibly harsh right now calling the president this, but we are in the tactical response right now. Enough with the 'let's unity' and stuff, this is a tactical effort right now to make sure that we protect American citizens and, of course, the next president of the United States."

Kayyem laid out her argument in more detail in a column published by the Atlantic Tuesday in which she accused the president of being a "rallying point for a coalition of theocrats, internet fantasists, white supremacists, and various other authoritarians who are in no way committed to peaceful transitions of power."

"The way to unite this country is to isolate acts of violence—and a leader who incites it—from legitimate expression," Kayyem wrote. "Trump was a north star for a certain kind of radical. Americans will be safer the more that star loses its shine."

Harvard professor and CNN analyst pushes conspiracy theory that Russian spies infiltrated Walter Reed Medical Center



Harvard professor and CNN analyst Juliette Kayyem says that it's very possible that Russian agents were able to infiltrate Walter Reed Medical Center in order to obtain classified information about President Donald Trump and his fight against the coronavirus.

Trump announced Friday that he had been diagnosed with COVID-19.

He subsequently spent about three days for treatment in Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

What are the details?

On Twitter, Kayyem — a professor in international security at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and a CNN analyst — said that it is highly likely that Russian agents were able to glean more information about the president's battle with the coronavirus than Americans — and through nefarious channels.

"It is very likely that Russian intelligence agencies — through signal and human intel sources at Walter Reed, etc — have more information about the President's condition than we do," Kayyem tweeted Saturday afternoon.

Kayyem used the hashtag #doctorslietoo to hammer home her point.

It is very likely that Russian intelligence agencies -- through signal and human intel sources at Walter Reed, etc… https://t.co/wFbQ8nD6kc
— Juliette Kayyem (@Juliette Kayyem)1601744234.0

After a wide variety of social media users pointed out their qualms with head-scratching tweet, Kayyem doubled down.

When further pressed by conservative commentator Stephen L. Miller, who simply shared Kayyem's sentiments and captioned them "CNN analyst," Kayyem responded, "Yep. What part of this don't you believe: that Trump team is lax on security and vulnerable or that Russia isn't interested in Trumps [sic] health leading to election they are interfering in. Keep doing what you are doing. It's working so well for America and the hospitalized Trump."

Yep. What part of this don’t you believe: that Trump team is lax on security and vulnerable or that Russia isn’t i… https://t.co/fvyvQvLVaI
— Juliette Kayyem (@Juliette Kayyem)1601759851.0

What else?

According to Campus Reform, Heritage Foundation fellow James Carafano — an expert in national security — says the idea that Russians would be spying on the president's medical condition is illogical, and that the Russians are simply not capable of quickly pulling off a caper to that degree.

"The Russians are not ten feet tall," he told the outlet. "The notion that Trump gets rushed to Walter Reed and the Russians put together some kind of sophisticated intelligence operation is probably close to zero. ... The notion that they can just throw something together doesn't pass the laugh test."

Carafano added, "I would imagine, actually, the Russians probably doing the same thing we're doing, which is reading what the doctors are saying. The notion you would cultivate a unit resource on twenty-four hours' notice is nuts. The capabilities the Russians have are classified, so if this professor has any knowledge whatsoever of what Russia's syncing capabilities are, that's really interesting."