Trump: ‘Assad Looks Better than the Other Side’
BURNETT: “Vladimir Putin today was at the U.N. and so was Barack Obama. They could not be more different when it comes to Syria. Barack Obama saying he wants Bashar al-Assad removed from power. Putin says, he thinks that’s an enormous mistake not to cooperate with Vladimir Putin. Which man is right?”
TRUMP: “Okay, so I’ve been saying this for a long time and I’ve kept it low and I really understand what is going on in Syria. Because you look at it, first of all, it’s a total catastrophe, it’s a total mess, and we are helping to make it a mess. Now, we have ISIS and ISIS wants to go after Assad. But we’re knocking the hell out of them even though it’s not a very full blown thing. We’re still dropping bombs all over the place. And, you know, look, they are not exactly loving life over in Syria, so we’re stopping them, to a certain extent, from going after Assad. You have Russia that is now there. Russia is on the side of Assad and Russia wants to get rid of ISIS as much as we do if not more because they don’t want them coming into Russia. And I’m saying, why are we knocking ISIS and yet at the same time, we’re against Assad? Let them fight, take over the remnants but more importantly, let Russia fight ISIS if they want to fight them. Let them fight it. In Syria, now, we can fight them in Iraq but if you think about Iraq, we’ve spent $2 trillion, thousands of lives lost. Wounded warriors who we love and I love all over the place, what do we have in Iraq and did you see —“
BURNETT: “You said you’d put ground troops on the ground in Iraq.”
TRUMP: “Well, we’re going to have to do something with ISIS. I was totally against the war in Iraq and I was from the beginning, 2003, 2004 because you’re going to destabilize the Middle East and I was right and should be given credit. Because that of everybody running, I’m the one person that said don’t do it.”
BURNETT: “How do you put ground troops in Iraq though but not in Syria?”[crosstalk]
TRUMP: “Well, because I’m saying —“
BURNETT: “Because there’s no border, essentially, between those countries.”
TRUMP: “Look, let Syria and ISIS fight. Why do we care? Let ISIS and Syria fight. And let Russia, they’re in Syria already, let them fight ISIS. Look, I don’t want ISIS. ISIS is bad. They are evil. When they start doing with a head chopping and drowning of — these are really bad dudes. So, I don’t want to — but let them fight it out. Let Russia take care of ISIS. How many places can we be?”
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