'I'm jumping out of my seat!' GOP strategist loses it in DC shooter debate with reporter

Politico reporter Daniel Lippman suggested Friday that the 190,000 Afghans that had immigrated to the United States since its 2021 withdrawal should not carry the blame for the Afghan migrant suspected of shooting two National Guard members Wednesday, a suggestion that set one Republican strategist into a rampage.

“I do think it's important that we don't paint too broad of a brush to label every Afghan who came in through this program – Operation Allies Welcome – with the crimes of one deranged individual, someone who had mental health issues and was evil,” Lippman said, appearing on Newsmax. “The vast majority of Afghans who come to this country, they actually love America.”

The suggestion, however, was apparently not taken well for Lindy Li, a former “tree-hugging progressive”-turned GOP strategist, who also appeared on Newsmax Friday alongside Lippman.

“Oh my gosh. I'm like jumping out of my seat here! Right now, we are suffering from suicidal empathy,” Li exclaimed.

“Putting the American people first means that we err on the side of caution, that means we go back and vet the 85,000 people who weren't thoroughly vetted. National sovereignty is so important; not to go back to the Roman Empire, but one of the root causes that the Roman Empire fell was porous borders! Can we take a page out of their book and actually learn from history?”

The shooting is suspected to have been carried out by 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan migrant who immigrated to the United States in the wake of its 2021 withdrawal, and who had worked for the CIA in Afghanistan for so-called counter-terrorism operations. He’s alleged to have shot 24-year-old Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe and 20-year-old Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom. Beckstrom succumbed to her injuries and died Thursday, whereas Wolfe remains in critical condition.

The shooting sparked an immediate reaction from the White House, with President Donald Trump announcing that he had ordered U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement to review every Green Card holder in the United States from 19 countries “of concern,” which includes Afghanistan.

The announcement sparked a wave of panic among legal residents, with immigration attorneys readying themselves for “thousands of panicked emails from good people.”