The U.S. decision to fire missiles at a key Syrian air base on Thursday reflect President Trump’s view that the U.S. can no longer sit back and watch Syrian dictator Bashar Assad slaughter his own people, according to Trump’s top spokesman.
“The idea that you can inflict this kind of suffering and trauma and tragedy upon any human being is something that can’t happen,” White House spokesman Sean Spicer said in a Fox interview that aired Saturday night.
“I think there’s a degree of reality that we have to understand, in terms of the political reality on the ground,” Spicer said when asked about the prospects of regime change. But he did say the U.S. needs to at least push for a change in behavior within Syria.
“We can’t put up with the actions that Assad has taken against his own people,” he said.
The strike has led to new worries that the Trump administration could be leading the U.S. into another lengthy military action in the Middle East. But the White House has indicated to members of Congress that Trump’s decision was related to last week’s use of chemical weapons against Syrians, and that it would only take similar actions in the future if Syria were to launch another chemical attack.
Still, the White House is preparing a plan of action for Syria, which has the potential to lead to further involvement for the U.S. military. When asked about that prospect, Spicer didn’t answer directly, but said most people realize that the U.S. must do something in the face of the gruesome attack that shocked the world last week.
“There’s no outcome that we want to see American lives shed,” he said. “But at the same time, every human being has to look at the images that occurred in Syria the other day, and understand that we cannot stand by to allow that kind of suffering and carnage to continue.”
Spicer dismissed questions about reactions from Russia, which has said the U.S. acted unilaterally and without enough evidence to back up its claim that chemical weapons were used.
But Spicer also agreed that the U.S. strike pokes a big hole in the Democratic theory that Trump has close ties to Russia, and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia has significant interests in Syria, and has worked closely with Assad to fight some of the groups the U.S. is backing in Syria.
To Spicer, the strike therefore shows that Democratic theories about Trump and Putin is a “made-up, political narrative.” He also said it shows that Trump will act in the U.S. national interest at all times.
“This is a very clear signal, both to our country and around the world, that this president’s going to do what it takes to act on our national security interests,” he said.
