Trump, Macron discuss push to defeat ISIS in call

President Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed their commitment to the “total defeat” of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) during a call Wednesday, the White House said.

The two leaders also discussed Macron’s upcoming trip to Washington later this month for a state visit, according to a White House read out of the call.

The call comes as Trump is reportedly preparing to direct U.S. military leaders to withdraw American troops from Syria. 

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The Washington Post reports that Trump emphasized in a meeting with national security officials that U.S. troops could still be involved in training local forces to secure areas that have been freed from ISIS. 

The president also said that the U.S. mission in the region would not extend beyond destroying ISIS and that he expects Arab nations to pay for rebuilding and send in their own troops if needed. 

Trump suggested Tuesday that he wanted to pull U.S. troops from the country.

“I want to get out. I want to bring those troops home,” he told reporters at a news conference with leaders from the Baltic states.

“Seven trillion dollars in the Middle East over the last 17 years, we get nothing out of it … except death and destruction. It’s a horrible thing.”

Trump first publicly floated the idea of withdrawing U.S. forces from Syria during a speech in Ohio last week.