On April 4, the Syrian government launched a deadly chemical weapons attack against its own people. Today, the US intelligence community confirms that Syria was behind the attack, and Donald Trump wants to have President Bashar Assad murdered.
Trump tells Defense Secretary Jim Mattis he’d like the military to “f—king kill” Assad. Mattis acknowledges Trump’s request but tells aides that he won’t order the assassination.
Trump admits to the plot on Sept. 15, 2020, in an interview with Fox News, after calling the claims a lie in 2018.
I would’ve rather taken him out. I had him all set. Mattis didn’t want to do it… I had a shot to take him out if I wanted, and Mattis was against it. Mattis was against most of that stuff.
Donald J. Trump
The first we hear about the conversation between Trump and Mattis is in Bob Woodward’s 2018 book Fear. At the time, Trump denies Woodward’s reporting.
Trump denied Woodward’s reporting, saying the events presented in the book never happened. “The book is fiction,” he said, stating that killing Assad was “never even discussed.”
Business Insider
Note: The specific date that Trump asked for this is unknown. The attack happened on April 4. The CIA confirmed on April 13 that the Syrian government was responsible. The photo for this file is from a briefing about the attack, at Mar-a-Lago on April 6.
External Sources
Photo: Public Domain
