White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Friday that President Trump still believes Syria’s government used chemical weapons against a Damascus suburb, but declined to say why he delayed a decision on a possible attack.
Trump said Monday “we are going to be making some big decisions over the next 24-48 hours.” After suggesting a decision may come Tuesday, he tweeted Wednesday that missiles “will be coming.” On Thursday, he said, “Never said when an attack on Syria would take place. Could be very soon or not so soon at all!”
Sanders, who on Thursday said “no final decision” was made, did not directly address the shifting time frame, but said at the daily White House press briefing that “we are continuing to have ongoing conversations with our partners and allies.”
“[Trump] and a number of other individuals within his administration have spoken to a number of our partners and allies at various levels across the world,” she said.
Sanders insisted that Trump still believes President Bashar Assad’s government was responsible for an alleged chemical attack against Douma, the final rebel-held town near Damascus, on April 7.
“We have a very high confidence that Syria was responsible,” Sanders said, refuting a claim from Russia that the incident was staged with British assistance.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Thursday morning the U.S. has no evidence of a chemical attack, which allegedly killed about 40 people. Mattis said in February the U.S. still had no evidence Assad attacked a rebel-held town in April 2017 with sarin gas, an allegation that led Trump to launch 59 Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian airbase.
“Yes, we’re again confident that both Syria had responsibility in this chemical weapons attack but we also hold Russia responsible for their failure to stop chemical weapons attacks from taking place,” Sanders said.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., told the Washington Examiner on Thursday he believes Trump delayed a possible attack because he doesn’t have proof that Assad was responsible and fears evidence may emerge to the contrary. Massie said he doubts that Assad was responsible.
