President Donald Trump praised the U.S. military strikes against Islamic State terrorists in northwest Nigeria as a “very bad Christmas present,” during a surprise Friday appearance on WABC 770 AM.
“I told Nigeria, and I told the people around Nigeria that if you do it, you’re going to get hit. And I said yesterday, I said, hit him on Christmas Day. It’ll be a Christmas present,” Trump told John Catsimatidis, host of WABC’s Sid & Friends in the Morning.
“We hit ISIS, who have terrible — they’re butchers. Then we really hit them hard in different locations, and they really got hit hard yesterday. So they got a very bad Christmas present,” the president continued.
TRUMP ORDERS CHRISTMAS DAY US MILITARY STRIKES AGAINST ISIS IN NIGERIA
Trump ordered deadly military strikes against “ISIS Terrorist Scum” in Nigeria on Christmas evening for allegedly targeting “innocent Christians.”
“I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday.
A War Department official told the Washington Examiner that Nigeria’s government was aware of the U.S. strikes. “The Department of War worked with the government of Nigeria to carry out these strikes. These strikes were approved by the government of Nigeria,” the official said.
For months, the Trump administration and evangelicals in the U.S. have accused Islamic State terrorists of intentionally targeting Christian Nigerians. Last month, the president said he was “really angry” about the anti-Christian violence in Nigeria and ordered armed forces leaders to prepare for action in the West African nation to tackle Islamist militant groups.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced earlier in December that the State Department will restrict visas for those who have orchestrated religious violence in the aftermath of harm against Christians in Nigeria, in a new policy under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Some Republican lawmakers have praised the attacks against ISIS on social media.
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“ISIS is responsible for the deaths of thousands of Christians & religious minorities in Nigeria. @POTUS’s decisive strikes will save lives & protect religious freedom,” wrote Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) on X.
“I commend President Trump, Secretary Hegseth, and our brave troops for these strikes against bloodthirsty ISIS savages who are not only persecuting Christians, but also have killed many Americans,” added Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR).
Sydney Topf contributed to this report.