President Trump claimed Monday that he never said the U.S. would “rush out” of Syria despite reporting that indicated he had ordered a rapid withdrawal.
Trump was asked about his weekend meeting with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a vocal critic of the pullout, who said afterwards, “I feel a lot better” about the plan after Trump “told me some things that I didn’t know.”
“Well, I don’t think too much, except that I said, you know, I never said that I’m gonna rush out,” Trump said in a New Year’s Eve interview with Fox News. “We’re going to get out. We’re getting out of Syria; we’re bringing our young, great troops home after so many years.”
On Dec. 19, Trump surprised the world when he declared victory over the Islamic State and ordered the withdrawal of all U.S. ground troops from Syria, where they have been assisting local Kurdish and Arab forces fighting ISIS.
Defense Department officials had said the president ordered the withdrawal within 30 days, but the New York Times reported over the weekend that Trump assured some military officials that they could have longer to ensure the troops leave in a proper fashion.
Although he declared victory over the Islamic State, Trump conceded Monday there are still some vestiges left to clear up in the short term.
“ISIS was all over the place when I took over. It was a total mess in Syria. We’ve almost eradicated all of them,” Trump said. “We think all of them will be gone by the time we get out, but we’re heading back and we’re also fighting. We — you can do two things at once.”
Trump’s pullout was reportedly the impetus for Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’ resignation. He is set to depart by the end of the night.
