Trump Defends Syria Decision, Warns Turkey What to Expect If They Attack

Cortney O'Brien | October 09, 2019 4:30 PM

President Trump addressed his largely unpopular decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria at the White House Wednesday, after singing executive orders on transparency. Going into the Middle East is "the worst mistake" the U.S. has ever made, the president said.

"We're bringing it back home," Trump announced.

Pres. Trump on withdrawing U.S. troops from northern Syria: "I feel that we are doing the right thing and I think the country feels that too." https://t.co/midFZt8PNM pic.twitter.com/xdRaxJlt8n
— ABC News (@ABC) October 9, 2019

Both Democrats and Republicans have condemned the president's foreign policy decision, but he maintained it was time to leave the region.

"We're policing areas," Trump regretted. "We're doing jobs that other countries should be doing." He mentioned Europe as an example.

"We shouldn't be doing it," he added. "We're 7,000 miles away."

He hammered the point home, noting that the U.S. "did a big favor to a lot of countries."

Yet, with no more U.S. presence, there are reports that Turkish forces are going to launch an offensive into Syria and "wipe out" our Kurdish allies. Asked to respond, Trump said he hopes Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will "act rationally." If not, he said Erdogan could expect severe economic sanctions.