I would hope everyone was scratching their heads over the Irish Taoiseach’s tweet about the release of Emily Hand, the Israeli-Irish 9-year-old girl Hamas kidnapped during the October 7 attacks. Hand was thought to have been killed in the attacks, which makes her release more of a feel-good story. What makes it odd, sadly, was Leo Varadkar describing her disappearance as something akin to losing your kid in a supermarket.
The Taoiseach wrote, “This is a day of enormous joy and relief for Emily Hand and her family. An innocent child who was lost has now been found and returned, and we breathe a massive sigh of relief. Our prayers have been answered.”
This is a day of enormous joy and relief for Emily Hand and her family. An innocent child who was lost has now been found and returned, and we breathe a massive sigh of relief. Our prayers have been answered.
— Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) November 25, 2023
It was a tweet that got a community note for the obvious: she was kidnapped by terrorists.
Mixed martial artist and boxer Conor McGregor was incensed by Varadkar’s post, with the UFC champion laying haymakers on the Taoiseach for being exceptionally dumb with his remarks:
She was abducted by an evil terrorist organization. What is with you and your government and your paid for media affiliates constantly down playing / attempting to repress horrific acts that happen to children. You are a disgrace. The day after a stabbing of children in Ireland,… https://t.co/YKyviZDLfW
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) November 26, 2023
Thank you @TheNotoriousMMA for attempting to knock some common sense into your embarrassment of a Prime Minister! pic.twitter.com/VlSuz6ITjW
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) November 26, 2023
She was abducted by an evil terrorist organization. What is with you and your government and your paid for media affiliates constantly down playing / attempting to repress horrific acts that happen to children. You are a disgrace. The day after a stabbing of children in Ireland, NOT ONE PAPER HAD IT ON THEIR FRONT COVER. We will not forget.
An Algerian did go on a stabbing spree in Dublin last week, which set off massive unrest in the city. Varadkar opted to go this route instead when addressing the mayhem:
Ireland's PM Leo Varadkar vows to crack down on free speech in response to the outrage over a migrant stabbing attack
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) November 25, 2023
CJ Bill (22) will make it a criminal offense in Ireland to possess "hate speech" on your phone or computer pic.twitter.com/zartVqsSwX
Look, even Rich Eisen gave McGregor props:
Way to go, Conor
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) November 27, 2023