President Obama was only a state senator when ISIS was founded

President Obama was only a Senator when ISIS was founded in 2004 — obvious disproof to Donald Trump's claims that the terror group was founded by the President.
(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Donald Trump blasted President Obama on Wednesday for allegedly "founding" the Islamic State, although he later revised his statement to say that Obama was merely a co-founder, working with Hillary Clinton to start the terrorist group. "[Obama] was the founder of ISIS, absolutely," Trump said.

While the claim, taken literally, is ridiculous, it is made even more absurd by the fact that when ISIS was founded in 2004, President Obama was a only a state senator in Illinois. ISIS was actually founded by a native Jordanian, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who moved to Iraq with funding from al Qaeda's head, Osama bin Laden, to fight America and Britain after the invasion in 2003. The U.S. president at the time was George W. Bush.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.