Trump feuds with Susan Rice over Syria

President Trump exchanged barbs with former Obama administration national security adviser Susan Rice over Syria after she sharply criticized his policy on Friday night.

“It’s going nowhere good,” Rice said of Trump’s Middle East policy during an appearance on Bill Maher’s show late Friday, pointing to Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from northern Syria earlier this month ahead of a Turkish offensive in the region.

Rice added that Trump effectively ceded “a portion of northern Syria — Kurdish homeland — to the Turks” and predicted that “ISIS is going to come back.”{mosads}

Trump later attacked Rice on Twitter, saying she was a “disaster” during her tenure as national security adviser.

“Susan Rice, who was a disaster to President Obama as National Security Advisor, is now telling us her opinion on what to do in Syria. Remember RED LINE IN THE SAND? That was Obama. Millions killed! No thanks Susan, you were a disaster,” he wrote. 

Susan Rice, who was a disaster to President Obama as National Security Advisor, is now telling us her opinion on what to do in Syria. Remember RED LINE IN THE SAND? That was Obama. Millions killed! No thanks Susan, you were a disaster.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 19, 2019

Rice then responded that Trump had told her at the 2015 White House correspondents’ dinner that she had been “unfairly treated” and “was doing a great job.”

“Then why did you come up and hug me at 2015 WHCD when I’d never met you (which was totally gross) and whisper in my ear that I had been ‘very unfairly treated’ over Benghazi and ‘was doing a great job for the country’?” she tweeted.

Then why did you come up and hug me at 2015 WHCD when I’d never met you (which was totally gross) and whisper in my ear that I had been “very unfairly treated” over Benghazi and “was doing a great job for the country”? https://t.co/HG3SU2gfrE

— Susan Rice (@AmbassadorRice) October 19, 2019

When asked by The Hill at the time about his embrace with Rice, Trump said, “She’s got the toughest job.”

“She’s a good woman,” he added. “And nothing in life is easy, there’s no question about it.”