Trump’s Christmas Day Airstrikes in Nigeria Spark Outrage and Divide

The outrage over Christmas Day strikes in Nigeria says more about the media’s reflexes than the facts. Coverage leans on the symbolism of the date and the drama of “divide,” as if the first question is optics instead of whether Americans were safer when the operation ended.

What’s missing is a sober look at the threat. ISIS affiliates in West Africa are not a regional nuisance. They traffic, recruit, and plot across borders. If U.S. intelligence identifies a lawful target and Nigeria can’t or won’t neutralize it, refusing to act for fear of headlines is not restraint. It is negligence.

Conservatives care about national security first, but also rule of law and public trust. That means clear authority, tight targeting, and accountability after the fact. The principle at stake is simple: American lives are not props for media narratives, and decisive deterrence matters.