Katrina Pierson engaged in a back-and-forth about who's truly responsible for the rise of ISIL. Trump camp blames Bill Clinton for the rise of ISIL

Donald Trump's national spokeswoman on Friday morning blamed Bill Clinton for the rise of the Islamic State.

Katrina Pierson engaged in a back-and-forth on CNN about who's truly responsible for the rise of ISIL, which Trump himself has pinned on both President Barack Obama and his former secretary of state Hillary Clinton.


“You say that under Hillary Clinton’s regime as secretary of state or President Obama’s presidency we see Al Qaeda emerge, and again that’s not true,” political commentator Marc Lamont Hill told Pierson.

“Al Qaeda emerges from, you know, excuse me, yes, ISIS emerged out of Al Qaeda in Iraq, which emerges out of a set of political moves that emerge before President Obama and even somewhat before President Bush,” Lamont Hill added.

“I agree 100 percent with Mark Lamont Hill, surprisingly, he’s absolutely right. This started before Obama, this started before Bush. This started when Bill Clinton allowed Osama bin Laden to get away, and here we are today,” Pierson responded.

Trump has made related allegations in the past, including at a rally in early January, when he blamed Bill Clinton for not ordering the killing of Osama bin Laden, which he said led to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

“If they pulled the trigger you’d probably have the World Trade Center the way it used to be. And by the way, most importantly, with all the thousands of lives that have been lost and affected so gravely. So we have to be smart,” Trump said.