Trump Gives Sad Speech About 'Innocent' Syrian Kids — Same Kids He Wants To Ban
During a press conference with King Abdullah II of Jordan on Wednesday, April 5, President Donald Trump expressed sadness over the children who were hurt and killed in a chemical attack in Syria on Tuesday.
According to The Washington Post, the president said,
I now have responsibility. It crossed a lot of lines for me. When you kill innocent children, innocent babies — babies, little babies — with a chemical gas that is so lethal, that crosses many, many lines, beyond a red line.
President Trump's sentiments would be touching, if it weren't for the fact these are the same children he wants to ban from entering the US.
Syria is one of the countries targeted by Trump's proposed travel ban against a number of predominately Muslim countries.
The children Trump expressed sympathy for would not be allowed to enter the US if the president got his way.
Meanwhile, these children continue to be at risk of being killed by military actions of the numerous actors currently involved in Syria — including the US.
As of March 28, 2017, the US and coalition military forces have conducted over 7,000 airstrikes in Syria since August 2014.
Trump's concern for the children of Syria seems incredibly shallow and hypocritical, given he also essentially desires to see them locked in a country the US has bombed thousands of times.
The initial travel ban Trump proposed in late January, which targeted seven predominately Muslim nations, indefinitely barred Syrian travelers from entering the US.
This travel ban failed due to legal problems, which led President Trump to sign a revised ban in March.
The revised ban, which was recently blocked by a federal judge in Hawaii, removed this stipulation. It also reduced the number of countries impacted by the ban to six, by removing Iraq from the list.
But the ban would still ban Syrian travelers, including refugees, from entering the US for 90 days.
A federal appeals court will hear arguments on the legality of President Donald Trump's revised travel ban executive order in May, Time reports.
Beyond the travel ban, Trump has offered no specifics on what he intends to do regarding Syria and the ongoing conflict there.
Trump initially responded to the chemical attack in Syria by blaming President Obama for not doing enough and letting things escalate.
The president reiterated this stance on Wednesday.
But, in 2013, Trump told President Obama he should not intervene in Syria, which contradicts his latest statement.
The chemical attack is believed to have been carried out by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russia claims the chemical attack was not the fault of Assad, but caused by rebels.
Trump has made no mention of this.
In general, most of what Trump has said about Syria since coming to office has been either discriminatory, hypocritical or nonsensical.
It's very unclear as to where he stands on this issue.
During Wednesday's press conference, the president said,
I do change and I am flexible. That attack on children yesterday had a big impact on me. Big impact. It was a horrible, horrible thing. It's very, very possible that my attitude toward Syria and Assad has changed very much.
He added,
One of the things I think you've noticed about me is militarily I don't like to say where I'm going and what I'm doing. I'm not saying I'm doing anything one way or the other. But I'm certainly not going to be telling you.
In short, the president won't publicly state any military actions he intends to take in Syria.
At the moment, one of the only things we can definitely say Trump plans to do for the children of Syria, who he claims to feel sorry for, is bar them from entering the US.
Citations: Trump on Syria: 'I now have responsibility' (The Washington Post)
