President Trump uncharacteristically criticized Vladimir Putin in a Sunday post on Twitter that condemned a suspected chemical attackand disparaged Russia and Iran.
The tweet appeared to be his first post slamming the Russian president, who Trump blamed in part for backing President Bashar al-Assad. He referred to the death of women and children as resulting from a "mindless CHEMICAL attack in Syria."
The comment appeared to be Trump's strongest critique of Russia since he took office 442 days ago.
“President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad,” the tweet read.
Syrian aid groups and activists allege that dozens of people died in a suspected chemical weapons attack on the city of Douma, the last rebel stronghold in eastern Ghouta where Assad has pursued an intensive bombing campaign.
The Syrian American Medical Society said that more than 500 cases, mostly women and children, suffered symptoms “indicative of exposure to a chemical agent” and 42 were reported dead.
Both Syria and Russia deny involvement in Sunday’s alleged chemical attack.
Trump said that the area affected by the alleged chemical attack was surrounded by the Syrian army “making it completely inaccessible to outside world.”
“Open area immediately for medical help and verification,” Trump tweeted. “Another humanitarian disaster for no reasons whatsoever. SICK!”
Trump previously ordered a Tomahawk missile strike against a Syrian airbase for a similar chemical attack in April 2017.
Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that the White House is considering how to respond and the national security team had been speaking to the president “all throughout the evening and the morning.”
“I wouldn’t take anything off the table,” he said.
The State Department, meanwhile, provided a full-throated critique of Russia in a statement on Saturday night that claimed that the nation had “breached its commitments to the United Nations” and called “into question [Russia’s] commitment to resolve the overall crisis and to larger non-proliferation priorities.”
Last week, Trump reluctantly agreed to keep U.S. troops in Syria, though he stressed to his national security team his desire to end U.S. involvement in the conflict as soon as possible.“Russia, with its unwavering support for the [Assad] regime, ultimately bears responsibility for these brutal attacks, targeting of countless civilians, and the suffocation of Syria’s most vulnerable communities with chemical weapons,” State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., however, placed pressure on the White House to act on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.
“If [the president] doesn’t follow through and live up to that tweet, he’s going to look weak in the eyes of Russia and Iran,” Graham said. “This is a defining moment.”
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