Rep. Adam Kinzinger, an Air Force veteran and major in the Air National Guard, said Thursday he recognizes President Donald Trump has the right to pull troops U.S. troops out of Syria, but he still thinks it's a "really bad decision."
"If I'm a cabinet official, and I think every one of them had their advice disregarded or not asked, I would be furious about it," the Illinois Republican told MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "This is a big deal."
He further accused Trump of being in a "bromance" with Sen. Rand Paul, who has come out in support of the president's move.
"They played golf enough and ran with his very out there foreign policy that is libertarian and has nothing to do with Republicanism, but is masquerading as a Republican, and somehow got in the president's ear," said Kinzinger.
"Instead of the president going in front of his foreign policy team that knows this 'he says it's done, we're going to do it, we're going to pull everybody out,'" said Kinzinger. "Rand is excited. Laura Ingraham is excited. But the rest of the people who understand how the world works and that 2,200 soldiers is a relatively small investment to destroy ISIS and keep them at bay, the rest of us are confused."
Kinzinger, as a Middle East veteran who has lost friends in war, also said he was "offended" after seeing Trump's video announcing the decision, during which he claimed that everyone who has sacrificed or fallen in the field of battle was thrilled with his decision.
"I was almost trembling after I saw it," said Kinzinger, explaining that he wears a bracelet with the name of a friend of his who he flew with in 2008 and who was killed in Iraq in 2018.
"His name is Captain O'Keefe," said Kinzinger. "The president cannot speak for Captain O'Keefe in terms of whether he wants to continue to prosecute the war against terror or not. When somebody gives their life for the country let's respect them and not drag them into the politics of whether fighting ISIS is wrong or right."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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