According to the latest “alternative fact” from President Donald Trump, his predecessor Barack Obama was responsible for releasing 122 “vicious” prisoners from Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba. In a, you guessed it, tweet just after 7 a.m. Tuesday, Trump said that the prisoners “have returned to the battlefield. Just another terrible decision!”
122 vicious prisoners, released by the Obama Administration from Gitmo, have returned to the battlefield. Just another terrible decision!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 7, 2017
The tweet, which is believed to be in response to a segment on Fox News about a former prisoner who “re-engaged in terrorism” and was killed during a U.S. airstrike in Yemen last week, was quickly denounced by Miami Herald reporter Carol Rosenberg, who has long covered the detention center.
Wrong POTUS, @realDonaldTrump. Your intel agencies report shows Bush released 113 of the 122 re-engagers from Gitmo. https://t.co/AvYSHDspfl pic.twitter.com/YZOVOrJS3O
— Carol Rosenberg (@carolrosenberg) March 7, 2017
According to a U.S. intelligence report shared on Twitter by Rosenberg, Obama released nine detainees, while 113 were set free by his predecessor, George W. Bush.