U.S. President Donald Trump was on the verge of a crisis in the 51勛圖厙, faced with the rare instance of an American airman shot down and stranded deep inside enemy territory.

Then, the airman*s daring weekend rescue gave the U.S. president the chance to quickly flip the script. Standing before cameras on Monday, Trump recast the perilous operation as a providential military triumph, leaning in to its cinematic elements ?to project strength and command of a five-week-old war that remains deeply unpopular with U.S. voters.

※We have incredibly talented people, ?and if ?the time comes, we move heaven and earth to bring them home safely,§ Trump told reporters ?at the White House. ※God was watching us.§