Trump Downplays Growing Tensions Between Turkey and Syria
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We ran the numbers: There are 1744 news articles covering this topic. 52% (910) are left leaning, 37% (641) center, 11% (193) right leaning.
Following his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria earlier this month, President Trump made comments on Wednesday that downplay Turkey’s subsequent invasion of the Syrian state.
"If Turkey goes into Syria, that’s between Turkey and Syria," Trump said. In addition to allowing Turkish forces to enter, the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria has allowed Russia to further extend its influence in the area.
"If Russia wants to get involved with Syria, that's really up to them," Trump said, adding; "They have a problem with Turkey, they have a problem at a border. It's not our border. We shouldn't be losing lives over it."
Trump’s decisions regarding the region has sparked a heated partisan debate in Washington. A majority of Republicans support the president’s stance while most Democrats contend that the President’s actions left U.S.-allied Kurdish forces to be slaughtered.
A left-slanted article from The Washington Post discusses the president’s use of military deaths to advance his political agenda. The article reports that his decision to withdraw from Syria was linked to a need to stop “these endless wars.” Additionally, Trump described the details of grief-stricken loved ones encountering the deceased -- a happening often kept off camera -- as further justification for the decision. The article goes on to discuss that many “U.S. politicians, especially presidents, have long relied on the fallen to advance political agendas.”
NPR published a centrist article that highlights the walk-out of top Democrats from a meeting with the White House to discuss Trump’s removal of U.S. troops from Syria. According to the article, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other Congressional Democrats walked out of the meeting after Trump reportedly called Pelosi a “third-rate politician.” NPR also reports that Pelosi told reporters that the president had a “meltdown” that prompted the walk-out. Additionally, the article reports that Trump took to Twitter following the event, saying that it was Pelosi who’d had the “total meltdown in the White House today.”
A right-leaning Breitbart article focuses on a new Economist/YouGov poll that shows a majority of Republicans (57%) in support of Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria. While the poll does show that a majority backs the president, the article highlights that some notable Republicans oppose the decision. Breitbart reports that Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Mitt Romney (R-UT) do not agree with Trump’s policy on Syria, while other well-known Republicans like Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky) staunchly defend the president’s stance. Additionally the article says the Department of Defense has “argued that continuing to station troops in the area could put American lives at risk.”
From the left
Why President Trump invoked the devastation of military deaths to push his Syria policy
Washington Post