Opinion: Trump's unsubstantiated terrorism claim

Editors Note: Peter Bergen, CNN's national security analyst, vice president at New America, professor of practice at Arizona State University, and host of the Audible podcast "In the Room" (also available on Apple and Spotify), debunks Donald Trump's false claim that there was no terrorism in the US during his presidency. Bergen, an expert on terrorism with numerous books on the subject, including his latest, "The Cost of Chaos: The Trump Administration and the World," highlights the inaccuracies in Trump's assertion made on the campaign trail.

This is not the first time he has made this claim, which is also connected to Trump's intentions, if he were to be re-elected as president, to reinstate a "Muslim ban" that restricted or made travel to the US from various Muslim-majority nations very challenging.

Despite the highly publicized travel ban implemented by Trump, terrorism was still prevalent during his tenure as the 45th president of the United States.

Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President, is seen observing a campaign rally at Trendsetter Engineering Inc. in Houston, Texas on November 2, 2023. This marks Trump's second visit to Texas this year. Meanwhile, his sons Don Jr. and Eric are testifying at his civil fraud trial in New York. A judge recently ruled that Trump had engaged in fraud over the years while building his real estate empire, potentially requiring him to sell his properties. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

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Opinion: Trumps mental gaffes cant be ignored

On October 31, 2017, Sayfullo Saipov, a US resident from Uzbekistan, drove a truck into a crowd of pedestrians in Manhattan. He was influenced by ISIS and tragically caused the deaths of eight individuals while injuring 11 others.

Two years later, an individual from the Saudi military attacked the US Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida, resulting in the deaths of three American sailors and the injury of eight others.

Under Trump's presidency, several deadly attacks were carried out by far-right terrorists. One significant incident occurred on August 3, 2019, at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. A white nationalist embarked on a shooting rampage, targeting individuals he perceived as Hispanic immigrants. As reported by the US Department of Justice, this heinous act claimed the lives of 23 innocent people.

Another tragic event unfolded on October 27, 2018, in Pittsburgh, marking the deadliest antisemitic attack ever recorded in the United States. A terrorist attacked the Tree of Life Synagogue, resulting in the loss of eleven lives.

In Trump's view, acts of terrorism committed by far-right terrorists are not considered as terrorism. Moreover, he played a role in inciting one of the most significant instances of domestic terrorism in American history. By encouraging thousands of his supporters to march on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, a riot ensued resulting in injuries to 114 Capitol Police officers, as revealed by a bipartisan US Senate investigation. Tragically, the riot also led to the loss of five lives.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is pursued by reporters as he walks to his office at the U.S. Capitol Nov. 13, 2023.

Francis Chung/POLITICO/AP

Republicans exhibit concern for the national debt exclusively when a Democrat holds the presidency. During Trump's tenure, the travel ban received multiple legal challenges but was ultimately supported by the US Supreme Court, encompassing individuals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, North Korea, and Venezuela as visitors to the United States.

The ban proved ineffective in preventing the Uzbek terrorist from killing eight people in Manhattan or the Saudi terrorist from killing three sailors in Pensacola. Furthermore, it failed to deter the domestic terrorists already present in the US. Terrorism did not vanish under Trump, and his potential implementation of an intensified Muslim travel ban, if he were to be re-elected, is unlikely to yield significant results.

Restricting the purchase of semi-automatic rifles like those used in the tragic events at the Walmart in El Paso and the synagogue in Pittsburgh would be a significant step towards reducing terrorism victims in the US. However, it is doubtful that Trump would take any substantial action on gun control. He has previously declared his pride in being the most supportive president of gun rights and believes that the issue is not solely about firearms but also encompasses mental health, societal, cultural, and spiritual factors.

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Don't expect Trump to have any regrets or doubts about the chaos he contributed to during the January 6 riot. In a CNN town hall last year, when questioned about whether he would grant pardons to those convicted of federal offenses for their involvement in the riot, he expressed a willingness to pardon a significant number of them.

During the same CNN town hall, Trump astonishingly labeled January 6 as a "beautiful day." Throughout his years, Trump has made numerous outlandish claims, but this one surely stands out as one of the most bizarre. Living in Washington, DC, my wife and I were deeply disturbed by the escalating violence at the Capitol, prompting us to collect our children from school earlier than usual. This day was far from beautiful; instead, it marked one of the darkest periods witnessed by the Republic in quite some time. With Trump's increased presence on the campaign trail, we can certainly anticipate more inaccuracies of this nature.

Fact-checking those statements will likely have zero impact on the MAGA faithful, but it may provide some small solace for those who labor in the fact-based world.