Donald Trump praises Saddam Hussein in North Carolina (July 5, 2016) 2016-07-06T01:00:22.000Z

On the very day that Hillary Clinton’s emails dominated the headlines (with FBI Director James Comey saying charges wouldn’t be referred against her), Donald Trump took the stage at a rally and….praised former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein.

This is what he said, at the July 5 rally in North Carolina:

Saddam Hussein was a bad guy, right? He was a bad guy. Really bad guy. But you know what he did well? He killed terrorists. He did that so well. They didn’t read them rights. They didn’t talk. They were a terrorist, it was over. Today, Iraq is Harvard for terrorists. You want to be a terrorist, you go to Iraq. It’s like Harvard, OK? So sad.

Praising Saddam? Some on the Internet had a field day with that, especially since Saddam’s human rights abuses are well known, including his gassing of the Kurdish people:

Of all days, why does Trump have to praise Saddam Hussein TODAY?! ? — Bob Estes (@BobEstesPGA) July 6, 2016

Wait. Trump praised Saddam Hussein? https://t.co/kbqX6DF4ei — Gyro Dude (@BfloDude) July 6, 2016

Hey guys remember I told you five hours ago Trump would screw up this day somehow? Praising Saddam Hussein. He did it. — John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) July 6, 2016

Reince Prebius watching Donald Trump praise Saddam Hussein pic.twitter.com/SK6c4biTPp — Dub Pool (@dubpool) July 6, 2016

It turns out, though, that praising Saddam is something Trump has done before. In fact, in March, he used almost the same line, according to the Independent, saying of Saddam:

He was very good at killing terrorists. Now, Iraq is the Harvard for terrorism.

What's even more amazing is that it's not the first time he's done it. https://t.co/J6hXW7CQBf — Johnathan McGinty (@johnemcginty) July 6, 2016

Indeed, Trump has made variations of the point many times. Examples:

Donald Trump praises SADDAM HUSSEIN 2014-01-22T21:18:06.000Z

Donald Trump: World better with Hussein, Gadhafi in powerRepublican presidential candidate Donald Trump says the world would be "100 percent" better with Saddam Hussein and Moammar Gadhafi still ruling Iraq and Libya, respectively. 2015-10-25T15:08:11.000Z