White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday castigated Democrats for comparing the recent ambush in Niger to the 2012 Benghazi embassy attack, calling it a “cheap attempt” to taint President Donald Trump.
Four American soldiers were ambushed and killed on Oct. 4 during a joint mission with the Niger military in West Africa, which has prompted some Democrats to compare the situation to the 2012 tragedy that took place while Hillary Clinton served as secretary of state. Four Americans, including U.S. ambassador to Libya, were killed in the attack on the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi, Libya. The Obama administration was criticized, largely along partisan lines, for its handling of the attack, and castigated for lying to Americans about the level of knowledge it had about growing unrest in the region prior to the attack.
The White House press secreatary was asked about the comparison by Fox News’ Steve Doocy.
“Democrats are calling this particular event ‘President Trump’s Benghazi,’ which is unusual because that means they think it’s a big thing although when President Obama was president, they did not regard Benghazi as a big deal, some,” Doocy said.