‘Fox & Friends’ Trashes Trump Over Syrian Withdrawal: ‘Worse Than President Obama’

Show has dedicated airtime to criticizing the president two days in a row

Fox & Friends
Fox News

The set of “Fox & Friends” spent a second day Thursday lacing into President Trump, with host Brian Kilmeade saying the president’s decision to pull U.S. forces out of Syria was worse than former president Barack Obama’s own foreign policy in the region.

“What happened last time when President Obama pulled out troops out after Iraq? What happened? We had to fight our way in and reestablish,” Kilmeade said. “He is doing exactly, if not worse, than President Obama did,” adding that Trump’s decision to pull out was comparable to Obama’s ultimately empty statement that Syrian use of chemical weapons would be a “red line” for his administration.

Trump made the announcement Wednesday, to the surprise of many, especially on Twitter. “We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency,” he said.

Echoing the broad foreign policy consensus, Kilmeade said that a U.S. withdrawal from Syria would allow Russia and Iran to move into the region and present an untenable situation for our Kurdish allies. Also on hand was Fox News reporter Ed Henry, who did his best to provide counterpoint and pushed back on Kilmeade, noting how Trump had been tough on Iran in other ways.

“But you’re assuming that we’re handing Syria to Iran without noting as well that this president stood up to Iran and pulled out of the nuclear deal,” Henry said. “President Obama was handing them cash. Is that a better idea?”

“We’re doing the same thing,” Kilmeade shot back. “We are allowing them to reestablish themselves in a region.”

It was the second day in a row the show offered a stern finger wag to the president. On Wednesday, Kilmeade along with co-host Steve Doocy and Ainsley Earhardt, criticized Trump over his decision to back down on a demand that Congress fund the border wall with Mexico.

“What a stunning turn of events,” Doocy said. “If he agrees to the [continuing resolution] which would continue funding the government at the current levels … he loses and the Democrats will win everything they want.”

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