Trump Says The Kurds Are ‘No Angels’ as They Face Turkish Onslaught
President Donald Trump appeared to criticize the Kurds in remarks at the White House on Wednesday. Referring to the escalating Turkish invasion of Northern Syria, Trump said the longtime U.S. allies in the fight against ISIS were ‘no angels.’
“The Kurds are much safer right now, but the Kurds know how to fight, and as I said, they’re not angels, they’re not angels…Take a look – you have to go back and take a look. But they fought with us, and we paid a lot of money for them to fight with us, and that’s OK,” Trump said.
Trump says the Kurds, who lost roughly 11,000 people in Syria during the U.S.-led campaign against ISIS, are “no angels” (via @justinsink)
— Jordan Fabian (@Jordanfabian) October 16, 2019
“All American soldiers are away from the site. Syria and Turkey can fight… They’ve got a lot of sand over there… There’s a lot of sand that they can play with,” the President said.
“If Turkey goes into Syria it is between Turkey and Syria. It’s not our problem,” he said.
Trump said it was ‘fine’ for the Russians to help the Syrian government in Damascus, which has been fighting the Kurds but recently agreed to assist them in resisting the Turkish invasion. He also reportedly referenced playing with sand again.
Trump further claimed that Syria was protecting the Kurds.
Trump via @colvinj: “Syria’s protecting the Kurds. They’re safe.”
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) October 16, 2019
He also bizarrely referred to the situation on the Turkey-Syria border as ‘strategically brilliant’ for the U.S.
More Trump, via @justinsink: “I view the situation on the Turkish border with Syria for the United States [as] strategically brilliant”
— Jordan Fabian (@Jordanfabian) October 16, 2019
Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from Northern Syria and effectively abandon the Kurds to Turkish invasion has been heavily criticized by members of both parties.
Watch part of Trump’s remarks above, via CNN.
