Fact Check: Trump, Faulting Obama on Syria, Contradicts Himself -
By LINDA QIUAPRIL 4, 2017
In a statement condemning Tuesday’s chemical attack in Syria, President Trump faulted the administration of former President Barack Obama for not intervening more aggressively in
that country’s civil war — contradicting his own, earlier advice.
After the October 2016 vice-presidential debate, when Mike Pence, then governor
of Indiana, backed strikes against Mr. Assad, Mr. Trump stated, “I disagree.”
In the general election, Mr. Trump repeatedly criticized Hillary Clinton
and Mr. Obama for pushing for “immediate regime change in Syria.” Yet as even Mr. Trump noted in his statement on Tuesday, Mr. Obama did little to remove Mr. Assad.
Mr. Trump also disparaged Mrs. Clinton’s campaign stances on Syria — she had denounced Russia’s intervention in the war
and called for a no-fly zone — and Mr. Trump said numerous times that her policies would “lead to World War III.”
“I think going in was a terrible, terrible mistake.
In a May 2016 interview on MSNBC, Mr. Trump said the United States had “bigger problems than Assad.” He added, “I would have stayed out of Syria
and wouldn’t have fought so much for Assad, against Assad.”
So emphatic was Mr. Trump’s stance on Syria that he disavowed the stance of his own running mate.