After Syrian President Bashar al-Assad launched a chemical attack on his own people last week, it was only a matter of time before President Donald Trump and the United States made a decision on how the country would move forward. After Trump decided that the U.S. would retaliate with a missile strike on a Syrian airbase, the rift between both sides became even more tense.

McCain on Trump

Ever since the early days of the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump talked a tough game when it came to his potential foreign policy. The former host of "The Apprentice" was able to craft a narrative that made him appear strong when it came to the military, but also vowed to keep the United States out of other country's internal fights.

Trump also spoke out against radical Islamic terrorism, promising to rid the world of groups like the Islamic State (ISIS) as soon as he got into the White House. However, after ordering the military to fire close to 60 tomahawk cruise missiles at an airbase in Syria, even some of Trump's most loyal supporters felt betrayed and hit back at the commander in chief in the process. This issue was discussed during the April 9 edition of "Face the Nation" on CBS with Sen. John McCain.

(McCain's comments on blaming Trump rhetoric start at 4:30 in the above video.)

Joining host John Dickerson on Sunday morning was Republican Arizona Sen. John McCain, who has a well-documented history of opposing Donald Trump on a wide-range of issues.

McCain was asked about the current situation in Syria, and the senator pushed back at the Trump administration. While McCain initially gave the president credit for taking the "first step" in attacking the government of Bashar al-Assad, he didn't appear on the same page when it comes to other areas, including comments that were previously made on the program by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

"Another aspect that I do not agree with the secretary is that you have to just concentrate on ISIS," John McCain said, noting that the United States could go after Islamic terrorist groups and the government of Assad at the same time.

John Dickerson then turned the attention to the root cause of why the Syrian government attack it's own people, asking the senator if he thought Donald Trump's previous rhetoric had anything to do with it. "Do you think the administration did anything to encourage this behavior?" Dickerson asked. In response, McCain replied, "I think it probably was partially to blame."

Moving forward

In the aftermath of the two attacks, it's unknown what will take place under the Donald Trump administration. The United States has long tried to avoid clashing with Russia and Iran, but due to the fact that both nations are allies to Syria, only time will tell if the U.S. is forced to make a move on the issue at hand.
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