After President Donald Trump decided to order a tomahawk cruise missile attack on Syria in retaliation to the chemical attack launched by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, backlash quickly followed. As the White House continues to defend their actions, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer appeared to fumble through his words during a recent press briefing and put the administration in a tough spot.

Spicer walk back

Donald Trump's decision to attack a Syrian airbase last week was one of his first high-profiled foreign policy acts as commander in chief.

The reaction was mixed, with many of his loyal supporters even speaking out and and accusing the president of betraying his campaign promises, which included conservative names like Ann Coulter and Milo Yiannopoulos. On Monday, Sean Spicer addressed the press at the White House and as expected, did everything he could to spin the story as a positive for the former host of "The Apprentice." During the press briefing, Spicer said "if you gas a baby, if you put a barrel bomb into innocent people, I think you will see a response from this president,” before adding, "make no mistake: he will act." At this point, questions were raised as to whether or not Trump would really go to war with Syria if Assad were to use barrel bombs on his own people, which he has been known to do in the past.

As reported by MSNBC on April 10, the White House was forced to clarify Spicer's comments.

As Sean Spicer's comments created yet another problem for the administration, the press secretary released a statement that walked back his previous remarks.

"Nothing has changed in our posture," the statement read, before adding that "the president retains the option to act in Syria against the Assad regime whenever it is in the national interest." Brian Klass then reported further on Twitter that the administration was specifically referring to "chemical barrel bombs." Over the weekend, conflicting messages have been delivered by members of the Donald Trump team, with Secretary of State speaking out on prioritizing the defeat of the Islamic State (ISIS), while United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley called for possible regime change and the ousting of Bashar al-Assad from his role as leader of Syria.

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The biggest problem facing the conflict in Syria are the various moving parts on the ground. While Bashar al-Assad is a direct threat, he's also being backed by Russia and Iran, two countries that the United States has attempted to avoid in recent years. While it's unknown what Donald Trump will do moving forward, it appears that there is some confusion behind the scenes.
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