The events of January 6th attracted a lot of opportunists, many of them Democrat politicians seeking to make electoral hay in the aftermath. Unfortunately, some of the opportunists were also in uniform on that day, and perhaps the worst example of that is Michael Fanone.

Fanone ended up being one of the star witnesses for the January 6th committee, claiming that he suffered such trauma from the riot that he had to resign from the United States Capitol Police. It was long before he became a regular on liberal cable news networks and a folk hero among those on the far left. Unsurprisingly, he also ended up with a book deal.

Whether Fanone was telling the truth or not about his experience on January 6th, he then chose to weaponize it as a partisan political matter, and he hasn’t been shy about how he feels about Donald Trump. Thus, it was no surprise when he showed up on CNN to opine about the latest indictment against the former president, and what he said was sick.

Michael Fanone says Trump's indictment made him feel "the way that I did when I learned that our military had killed Osama bin Laden." Even Laura Coates was taken back. Later adds "what I say or what Republican lawmakers say is just, you know, shit to take up time on cable news" pic.twitter.com/H4b0Ahbpx3

— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) August 2, 2023

FANONE: And I told him how proud I felt to be an American at that moment, much in the way that I did when I learned that our military had killed Osama Bin Laden. I just felt incredibly proud.

COATES: These two seem comparable to you? I’m sorry to cut you off, but why that comparison in particular?

FANONE: Oh, I believe they’re comparable.

COATES: In what way?

FANONE: Absolutely. Osama Bin Laden was a terrorist who committed a horrific act against American people and against our republic, and I believe that Donald Trump is a terrorist who committed horrific acts against the American people.

To set the record straight, no, Donald Trump and January 6th are not comparable to Osama Bin Laden, who carried out attacks that killed thousands of Americans and led to a 20-year war in Afghanistan. Fanone is welcome to have strong feelings about January 6th, but he’s not welcome to twist history to his own ridiculous partisan whims, including making such a disgusting, insensitive comparison. At the very least, he’s not welcome to do so without receiving pushback.

Regardless of how one feels about the riot that occurred on January 6th, and certainly, I wish it had never happened, the fact remains that the only person deliberately killed on that day died at the hands of law enforcement. That would be Ashli Babbitt, who was unarmed at the time. To compare that to 9/11 is crazy and trivializes the memory of those who died. It’s like making a Holocaust comparison. You shouldn’t do it, and there are good reasons you shouldn’t do it.

CNN’s Laura Coates, unequivocally someone with Democrat leanings, was even taken aback by Fanone’s comment.

COATES: Are you concerned that statements like that or statements surrounding what his role has been are going to cloud peoples’ views about this as a fair process?

Fanone would then go on to double down because that’s what’s earned him so much attention over the last several years. As long as CNN keeps calling, what incentive does he have to do better?

Arguments about Trump’s legal issues will continue, but pretending the former president is somehow akin to Osama Bin Laden is insane. Anyone who suggests that is obviously doing so for partisan reasons, and they should be dismissed out of hand.