WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump said the Syrian regime's apparent use of chemical weapons against its own citizens "crossed a lot of lines" for him, but offered no indication of any plans by his administration to respond to the attack.
At a White House Rose Garden news conference Wednesday alongside King Abdullah of Jordan, Trump condemned what he said was a "horrific" attack targeting innocent women and "even beautiful little babies." He called it an "affront to humanity."
"These heinous actions by the Assad regime cannot be tolerated," he said.
Trump told reporters that his attitude toward Syrian President Bashar Assad "already changed very much" as a result of the attack in northern Syria, without specifying what the consequences of that new assessment would be. He only said he was "flexible."
The president also repeated criticism of the Obama administration's approach to the Syrian civil war, and derided former President Barack Obama specifically for his "blank threat" _ a reference to Obama's saying the use of chemical weapons would cross a red line for him. His predecessor's inability to resolve the Syrian crisis "set us back a long ways," Trump said.
"I now have responsibility, and I will have that responsibility, and carry it very proudly," he said.
Speaking earlier Wednesday at an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley hinted that if the body did not take action in response to the deadly attack in Idlib province, the U.S. might. Defense Secretary James Mattis said the "heinous act" would be "treated as such."
Trump also repeated his often-articulated view that he should not and would not telegraph potential military action, preferring to retain the element of surprise.
"I'm not saying I'm doing anything one way or the other. But I'm certainly not going to be telling you" about any potential action, he told a reporter.
