Syrian President Bashar Assad criticized America’s past, present and future presidents Wednesday, calling them leaders who lacked sufficient experience before ascending to the Oval Office.
From the Syrian presidential palace in Damascus, Assad told NBC News that the brevity of presidents’ work experiences has repeatedly put America in a “dangerous” position, and argued that just a “few years” of congressional or foreign affairs experience cannot prepare a leader.
“Who had this experience before? Obama? Or George Bush? Or [Bill] Clinton before? None of them had any experience,” Assad in a clip that aired Wednesday night. “This is the problem with the United States.”
While the Syrian leader said both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump lacked the know-how to govern a nation, he attacked Trump for his minimal foreign policy experience. Although Trump does not have prior political experience, Clinton has been praised as the opposite, having worked as a senator, secretary of state and first lady.
Assad has served as president for 16 years, but was in the military a decade before his current position.
The full interview, including questions on the Islamic State and Syria’s civil war, will air on MSNBC Thursday.
