(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) After the smear campaign comparing President Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler failed, some leftist commentators have sunk to a new low: likening Trump to Al-Qaeda.
The comparison spread on X in response to Trump-led construction of a new ballroom at the White House’s East Wing, with critics claiming the construction resembles the destruction caused by Al-Qaeda on Sept. 11, 2001.
Left-wing commentator Tara Setmayer, a frequent CNN and ABC contributor, wrote Friday that the construction site “feels almost the same as” when she saw the Pentagon after the terrorist attack more than two decades ago.
For perspective, nearly 3,000 individuals lost their lives at the hands of Al-Qaeda terrorists that day. The Pentagon sustained a plane crash, causing the tragic deaths of 184 people.
It’s feels almost the same as when I saw the Pentagon damage on 9/11. pic.twitter.com/cgZ3LWOhnk
— Tara Setmayer (🦋🦋 meet me there!) (@TaraSetmayer) October 24, 2025
By contrast, the White House is simply undergoing construction of a ballroom, funded directly by Trump and private donors, including some of the most leftist-aligned entities.
Google, Meta and Microsoft, all companies known for censoring conservatives, have donated to the construction. Even Comcast Corporation, the parent company of MSNBC, contributed to the project.
Setmayer’s comparison garnered nearly a million views and drew a wave of pushback from critics.
“The left is unable to mentally distinguish between Islamic terrorism that kills thousands and … building improvements. Horrific break with reality we’re watching here,” wrote The Federalist editor-in-chief Mollie Hemingway.
Former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker echoed this sentiment, writing, “That is nothing like what was done by radical Islamic terrorists – who were likely targeting the White House to kill the @POTUS – the day they flew into the Pentagon. Your TDS blinds you from reality.”
Media analyst Greg Price added: “Liberals are so mentally ill that they can’t distinguish between a terrorist attack that killed thousands of people and renovations.”
