President Donald Trump "inherited a mess" from President Barack Obama where Afghanistan is concerned, and now that he is in the Oval Office, he must do what's best for U.S. security, Florida Rep. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday.
"He said he would rather not be in Afghanistan at all," the Florida Republican told Fox News' "America's Newsroom" program, noting that most of the advice the president has received is that it "will not be good" to pull out of Afghanistan, as it would leave an opening for the Taliban and al-Qaida.
Moving forward, it's important to support Trump and the U.S. troops, DeSantis said of the president's decision to remain in Afghanistan.
"I think the president did a good job, but even if I didn't agree with the particular policy, when troops are in harm's way, we have to get behind them and give them what they need,' he said.
Trump's decision to no longer fight by using restrictive rules of engagement also was important, said DeSantis.
"Sometimes, they are not allowed to shoot at a terrorist, so now the gloves are off," he said. "They will be in a true combat [mode], where they can go and can defeat and overwhelm the enemy. That will make success much more attainable."
DeSantis said he also thinks it's important that lawmakers get behind the president, rather than "sniping at every little thing" about his plan.
"I served in Iraq in 2007," he said. "Before we deployed, we had Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi saying the war is lost, it is a disaster. That didn't sit with a lot of us getting ready to go over there . . . there are so many other things they can snipe about, but let's root for America's success in this endeavor."
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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