Who is Dean Obeidallah? Comedian sparks controversy after comparing Trump with 9/11 terrorist Osama Bin Laden
In a controversial tweet on Sunday, April 4, 2021, comedian and CNN writer Dean Obeidallah shockingly compared former President Donald Trump to 9/11 terrorist Osama Bin Laden, accusing both of 'inciting terrorist attacks' on USA. He also called out the media for 'normalizing terrorism' and insisted that Trump's statements should be treated in the same manner as Bin Laden's tapes.
In a fiery Twitter thread, Obeidallah wrote, "Every Trump statement he puts out should be covered by the media the same way they covered Bin Laden's tapes in the year after 9/11. Both Trump and Bin Laden incited terrorist attacks on our nation designed to destroy our democracy. Anything else by media is normalizing terrorism." His tweet earned him severe backlash with Twitter users expressing their doubts over his credibility as a 'lawyer', as mentioned in his bio.
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Every Trump statement he puts out should be covered by the media the same way they covered Bin Laden's tapes in the year after 9/11. Both Trump and Bin Laden incited terrorist attacks on our nation designed to destroy our democracy. Anything else by media is normalizing terrorism
— (((DeanObeidallah))) (@DeanObeidallah) April 4, 2021
Obeidallah called out Trump for his alleged involvement in inciting the Capitol riots of January 6, 2021.
Who is Dean Obeidallah?
Dean Obeidallah is commonly recognized as the host of 'The Dean Obeidallah Show' on SiriusXM Progress radio. The lawyer, comedian, and journalist is also a regular contributor to publications like CNN, The Daily Beast, and MSNBC.
Born and brought up in New Jersey, Obeidallah is of Palestinian-Italian descent. He holds a degree in law from Fordham Law School and practiced with the firm Beattie Padovano from 1993 to 1998. In fact, he first performed stand-up comedy at the NJ Bar Association's comedy show. In 1998, Obeidallah was accepted into the NBC Page Program when he decided to quit law, according to his LinkedIn bio. Till 2007, he worked as a rights and clearance researcher with 'Saturday Night Live', alongside performing in comedy clubs of New York City.
In 2007, Obeidallah co-created the Internet series 'The Watch List' for Comedy Central - the first-ever broadcast project featuring all Middle-Eastern comedians. He also started the Dean of Comedy Productions the same year which he is still managing.
In 2005, he received the 'Spirit of Bill Hicks' award for his thought-provoking comedy. Since 2003, he has also been the co-founder of the New York Arab-American Comedy Festival. He has also co-created the 'Stand up for Peace' project where he performs with Jewish-American comedian Scott Blakeman with the message to foster a peaceful solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
He called the 45th POTUS 'Terrorist Trump'
A staunch critic of Donald Trump and the Republican party, Obeidallah has faced controversy in the past for his problematic remarks about Mitt Romney's family in 2013. However, on Sunday, he seemed to go out on a limb and referred to Trump as 'Terrorist Trump' in a series of tweets condemning his past and present actions.
"Nothing like watching white politicians and journalists tell us that we are being overblown in our concerns about the Georgia voting suppression laws. These are the same people who defended Terrorist Trump's call to ban all Muslims and denied that was bigoted," he wrote on Twitter, in the context of Trump's call for boycott of Major League Baseball.
"The same White people who claimed Trump's call to ban all Muslims or Trump's defense of Confederate generals wasn't bigoted now claim the Georgia GOP's voter suppression law is not motivated by race. These "White Lies" are BS!," he wrote.
Obeidallah added in another tweet, "Unless a person is literally burning a cross, many white people will deny that another white person is a racist. The tribal mentality of white people on right is dangerous. They will excuse any behavior of fellow white people from Trump to Matt Gaetz to Derek Chauvin."
Nothing like watching white politicians and journalists tell us that we are being overblown in our concerns about the Georgia voting suppression laws. These are the same people who defended Terrorist Trump's call to ban all Muslims and denied that was bigoted.
— (((DeanObeidallah))) (@DeanObeidallah) April 4, 2021
The same White people who claimed Trump's call to ban all Muslims or Trump's defense of Confederate generals wasn't bigoted now claim the Georgia GOP's voter suppression law is not motivated by race. These "White Lies" are BS!
— (((DeanObeidallah))) (@DeanObeidallah) April 4, 2021
Unless a person is literally burning a cross, many white people will deny that another white person is a racist. The tribal mentality of white people on right is dangerous. They will excuse any behavior of fellow white people from Trump to Matt Gaetz to Derek Chauvin
— (((DeanObeidallah))) (@DeanObeidallah) April 4, 2021
However, his opinion was not well-received by many who lashed out at him calling him 'racist' and 'full of sh*t'.
"You racist," remarked one user while another commented, "'Lawyer', Embarrassing."
On April 4, Obeidallah contributed a column on CNN about the death anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and analyzed how his fight for Black voting rights has yet to be won.