In the late hours of Thursday night, the Trump administration launched a massive missile strike on Syria.
This was in response to a massive chemical attack on the country, which Donald Trump personally blamed on the current Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, telling CNN:
“When you kill innocent children — innocent babies — babies — little babies with a chemical gas that is so lethal, people were shocked to hear what gas it was, that crosses many, many lines. Beyond a red line, many, many lines.”
It is reported that 50 tomahawk missiles (the equivalent of 60,000 pounds of explosives) were used in the military strike, which lasted approximately one minute, and that the bombs were launched from U.S. warships nearby in the Mediterranean Sea.
JUST IN: Pres. Trump said “Assad choked out the helpless,” after the US launched missiles into Syria Thursday night. https://t.co/oZz0jUmo8i pic.twitter.com/q8HToGvDJG
— CNN (@CNN) April 7, 2017
Trump made an official statement in the wake of the strikes:
While Trump is currently hosting President Xi of China at Mar-A-Lago, it is now being reported (via ABC News) that the Syrian government may have perceived his strike actions as an act of war, while additional reports place Russian troops in the area at the time of the strike, however Trump had warned the Russian government of his actions in advance.
But the public has reacted by going back through Trump’s tweets and locating his advice to President Obama when the same situation arose a few years ago, which still ended with the then-President launching missile strikes into the country.
President Obama, do not attack Syria. There is no upside and tremendous downside. Save your "powder" for another (and more important) day!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 7, 2013
AGAIN, TO OUR VERY FOOLISH LEADER, DO NOT ATTACK SYRIA – IF YOU DO MANY VERY BAD THINGS WILL HAPPEN & FROM THAT FIGHT THE U.S. GETS NOTHING!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2013
