Sen. Rand Paul argued that Syria is not a threat to American security and that the U.S. might be better off if dictator Bashar al-Assad won the ongoing Syrian civil war.
“The only oath I take is to the Constitution. I didn’t promise to take the country to war. I promised not to take the country to war. So did President Trump, by the way,” the Kentucky Republican said Friday on ABC’s The View. “Anybody who tries to make the argument that someone in Syria is a danger to our country, is really not paying attention.”
“Well I think Assad in Syria is a hell of a danger to our country and our world,” co-host Ana Navarro responded.
“Well actually, if you look at the war, the war is very complicated,” Paul said. “You have Assad on one side. On the other side, you have Sunni extremists.”
He added, “If that side of the war actually won, I think we might actually be in more danger. I don’t like Assad, but the other people on the other side are Sunni extremists that I don’t like either.”
Paul’s appearance on the show follows criticism from the hosts over his support of President Trump’s decision to pull troops from northern Syria. Host Meghan McCain claimed Thursday that Paul has “blood” on his hands for supporting withdrawal. McCain, however, was absent from Friday’s show for “personal” reasons.
