Death of a Dirtbag: 15 Years Ago Today, Osama bin Laden Died — And So Did American Unity
Osama bin Laden was killed on May 2, 2011, following a U.S. military operation that was kept secret until after President Obama confirmed the news. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson surprisingly announced the event on Twitter before major news outlets, likely due to a leak from someone involved in the mission. The moment briefly united Americans across political lines, marking one of the last instances of national consensus.
- ▪Dwayne Johnson tweeted about Osama bin Laden's death before any major news organization reported it.
- ▪President Obama altered his White House Correspondents’ Dinner speech, removing a joke about bin Laden, suggesting he already knew of the impending operation.
- ▪Members of the speechwriting team realized after the fact that Obama’s unusual speech changes were linked to the covert mission.
- ▪The operation was carried out by Seal Team 6, and someone with knowledge of it likely leaked the news to Johnson.
- ▪The killing of bin Laden prompted widespread approval in the U.S., with rare bipartisan unity in support of the military and intelligence efforts.
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Death of a Dirtbag: 15 Years Ago Today, Osama bin Laden Died — And So Did American Unity Scott Pinsker | 10:38 AM on May 02, 2026 AP Photo/Richard Drew, File The weird thing is, the New York Times, Fox News, CNN, or the BBC didn't break this earth-shattering news — or even the president. Pro wrestler-turned-movie star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson scooped ‘em all: Advertisement googletag.cmd.push(function () { googletag.display("div-gpt-300x250_3"); //googletag.pubads().refresh([gptAdSlot["div-gpt-300x250_3"]]) }); Just got word that will shock the world - Land of the free...home of the brave DAMN PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) May 2, 2011So how did The Rock out-scoop international news organizations that spend millions annually on investigative journalism and foreign…
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