De potentiële Republikeinse presidentskandidaten gaven na de dood van Osama bin Laden een verklaring uit.

Voormalig gouverneur van Arkansas, Mike Huckabee zei: “It is unusual to celebrate a death, but today Americans and decent people the world over cheer the news that madman, murderer and terrorist Osama Bin Laden is dead…Welcome to hell, bin Laden. Let us all hope that his demise will serve notice to Islamic radicals the world over that the United States will be relentless is tracking down and terminating those who would inflict terror, mayhem and death on any of our citizens.”

Voormalig gouverneur van Massachusetts, Mitt Romney zei het volgende: “This is a great victory for lovers of freedom and justice everywhere. Congratulations to our intelligence community, our military and the president. My thoughts are with the families of Osama bin Laden’s many thousands of victims, and the brave servicemen and women who have laid down their lives in pursuit of this murderous terrorist.”

Voormalig gouverneur van Minnesota, Tim Pawlenty zei: “This is terrific news for freedom and justice. In the hours after the 9/11 attacks, President Bush promised that America would bring Osama bin Laden to justice – and we did. I want to congratulate America’s armed forces and President Obama for a job well done.”

“Americans tonight are united in celebration and gratitude. God bless all the brave men and women in our military and our intelligence services who contributed to carrying out the successful mission to bring bin Laden to justice and who laid the groundwork over the years to make this victory possible. It’s a testament to the hard work and dedication of these brave Americans who relentlessly hunted down our enemy. May God bless our troops and our intelligence services, and God bless America!”, aldus de voormalige gouverneur vanAlaska, Sarah Palin.

“Tonight’s news does not bring back the lives of the thousands of innocent people who were killed that day by Osama bin Laden’s horrific plan, and it does not end the threat posed by terrorists, but it is my hope that this is the beginning of the end of Sharia-compliant terrorism”, aldus afgevaardigde van Minnesota, Michele Bachmann.

De voormalige senator van Pennsylvania, Rick Santorum zei: “This is extraordinary news for all freedom loving people of the world, and I commend all those involved for this historic triumph. Americans have waited nearly 10 years for the news of Osama bin Laden’s death. And while this is a very significant objective that cannot be minimized, the threat from Jihadism does not die with bin Laden.”

Zakenman Donald Trump, die de afgelopen weken viel kritiek op Obama uitte begon, in tegenstelling tot de andere kandidaten, met het persoonlijk feliciteren van Obama. Trump zei: “I want to personally congratulate President Obama and the men and women of the Armed Forces for a job well done. I am so proud to see Americans standing shoulder to shoulder, waving the American flag in celebration of this great victory. We should spend the next several days not debating party politics, but in remembrance of those who lost their lives on 9/11 and those currently fighting for our freedom. God Bless America!”