President Donald Trump is moving to the center when it comes to foreign policy, both on NATO and with his reaction to last week's chemical weapons attacks in Syria, Democratic Whip Dick Durbin said Wednesday.
"What you're seeing is moderation of the views of Donald Trump, at least in the White House foreign policy, that differ from what we heard on the campaign trail," the Illinois Democrat told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program. "On the campaign trail, he didn't back off an inch."
The Trump administration is talking tougher on both Russia and Syria, noted Durbin.
"Think about a week ago, here is Secretary of State Rex Tillerson saying to let the Syrian people decide if Bashar al-Assad has a future," Durbin said. "Within seven days, we're attacking them. So there is a transition taking place. You have identified Jared Kushner as one of the elements of the transition. I think that's true from what I've heard. It's an indication they are moving toward what used to be the center stripe, mainstream foreign policy."
Durbin also noted that Gens. H.R. McMaster and James Mattis, taking lead roles in Trump's administration, are already proving to be a solid influence.
"If you saw Mattis yesterday, what a great, solid performance," said Durbin. "Praise the Lord that that sort of person is that close to the president. That's the thing most of us fear the most. It's three in the morning. He [Trump] takes a nap between tweets. There's a knock on the door. Five minutes to make a life or death decision. Who does he call?"
McMaster is also a hero to the aspiring leaders of the military, as he spoke up about the errors of foreign policy and how they were played out in military decisions, said Durbin.
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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