Fox News host Chris Wallace drew a comparison between former President Barack Obama’s handling of Syria and President Trump’s response to Iran.
“You were very critical of President Obama’s failure to enforce his red line against Syria after a chemical attack, saying that ‘it raised questions about how strong U.S. security commitments and statements by the president were,'” Wallace said to Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., on Fox News Sunday.
“President Trump has repeatedly gone after Mr. Obama on the same thing,” Wallace added.
“Does this run the risk of being President Trump’s red line moment?” Wallace asked.
The question comes after Trump canceled a retaliatory strike against Iran after they shot down a U.S. military drone.
The canceled strike meant that the United States avoided for now what some have worried could be a prolonged military conflict if tensions continue to escalate.
In 2012, Obama warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against using chemical weapons, saying the move would “change my equation.”
“We have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also to other players on the ground, that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. That would change my calculus. That would change my equation,” Obama said.
After reports came out that Syria had used chemical weapons, Obama later backed off from his “red line” comment telling reporters in 2013 that, “I didn’t set a red line. The world set a red line.”
