Graham: Trump’s decision to pull out of Syria ‘came out of left field’ – POLITICO

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Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-.S.C) threatened to clash with Donald Trump Thursday unless the president reconsidered his decision to pull U.S. troops out of Syria without warning.

“President Trump — I will help you any way I can… but because you’re a Republican I’m not going to ignore what I believe,“ Graham said. “I’m going to give you an honest evaluation. I was willing to support a Democrat if he followed sound military advice. I’m willing to fight a Republican if you don’t.”

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Trump came under withering criticism from Republicans, including Graham, Wednesday after he tweeted that he would withdraw U.S. troops from Syria. In his tweet, the president claimed without evidence that “We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency.”

Trump defended his decision Thursday, posting on Twitter: “Getting out of Syria was no surprise. I’ve been campaigning on it for years, and six months ago, when I very publicly wanted to do it, I agreed to stay longer.”

But Graham said Thursday that Trump’s decision came as a surprise, particularly given that James Jeffrey, the U.S. special representative for Syria engagement, said earlier this week that the United States was committed to Syria until ISIS was defeated.

“I don’t know how this decision was made, it literally came out of left field,” he said. “It has rattled the world.”

Graham added that when he spoke with Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Wednesday, Mattis told him “the time was not right to leave” and Pompeo also understood that conditions “were not ripe yet” to leave.

“I am confident … that this decision did not come based on advice from his national security team, it came from the president himself,” Graham said.

The South Carolina senator said that there is bipartisan support for a resolution that would ask the president to make any future decisions on withdrawing from Syria based on conditions on the ground and in consultation with the president’s national security team.

Graham’s criticism comes despite his close relationship with Trump, with whom he speaks to on a regular basis.