14:04
- ABC News
- April 6, 2017
What Trump has said about Syria and Assad
Comes as he admits he's changed his mind after chemical attack.
Trump seemingly flipped his stance on whether or not Obama should have followed through on the red line threat by the time he reached the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in July 2016.
In his speech after officially being named the party’s nominee, he referenced the decision, saying “Another humiliation came when president Obama drew a red line in Syria – and the whole world knew it meant nothing.”
In the last week of the election, Trump worked Syria into a few of his campaign speeches, using it as a dig at Clinton.
\"Now she wants to start a shooting war in Syria in conflict with nuclear-armed Russia. Frankly, it could lead to World War III and she has no sense,\" he said at a rally in Miami on Nov. 2.
In an interview with The New York Times on Nov. 23, Trump said he had \"some very strong ideas on Syria,\" but refused to publicly give specifics.
\"I can only say this: We have to end that craziness that’s going on in Syria,\" he said, before taking the conversation off the record.
In a Jan. 25 interview with ABC News’ David Muir in the White House, Trump said that he’ll “absolutely do safe zones” to provide a space for refugees fleeing the conflict.
“I think that Europe has made a tremendous mistake by allowing these millions of people to go into Germany and various other countries. And all you have to do is take a look. It's -- it's a disaster what's happening over there,” he said.
Though Trump condemned the recent chemical attack, saying on Wednesday that it “crossed a lot of lines for me,” he still refused to say whether or not that would be followed by military or diplomatic action by the United States.
“I watched past administrations say we will attack at such and such a day at such and such an hour ... I'm not saying I'm doing anything one way or the other,” Trump said Wednesday alongside Jordanian King Abdullah II.
\"I think the Obama administration had a responsibility to solve the crisis a long time ago. And when he didn't cross that line in making the threat, I think that set us back a long ways, not only in Syria but in many other parts of the world, because it was a blank threat. I think it was something that was not one of our better days as a country,\" he said.
Trump added, \"I now have responsibility, and I will have that responsibility and carry it very proudly.\"
Trump was in Florida Thursday afternoon where he is hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping at his Mar-a-Lago estate, but he suggested that action may be taken in response to the attack in Syria.
\"I think what happened in Syria is a disgrace to humanity. He’s there and I guess he’s running things, so something should happen,\" Trump said aboard Air Force One.
When asked if he's told members of Congress that he plans to resort to military action, the president said he had not.
“I don’t want to mention that, but the answer is no I haven’t,” he said.
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