Donald Trump Signals Renewed Interest in Syrian War: ‘I Am Watching That Very Closely’

President Donald Trump asserted Wednesday he is watching the ongoing civil war in Syria very closely and signaled he might act to stop a “slaughter.”

“I think it is a very sad situation,” Trump said, warning Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad that the United States would act if violence increased.

“If it is a slaughter, the world will get very, very angry, and the United States will get very, very angry,” he said. “I am watching that very closely.”

The president discussed Syria during a meeting at the White House with Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad.

He flatly denied that he ordered Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis to assassinate Assad, a scene journalist Bob Woodward reported in his latest book.

Trump’s interest in the conflict renewed after speaking to a Syrian woman in Indiana who asserted that millions of people would die in the ongoing conflict, he revealed during an interview with The Daily Caller on Tuesday.

“I went out, and then yesterday, I read a big story about it, and I said, ‘You know, that woman is potentially right,'” he said.

Trump addressed the issue on Monday.

“President Bashar al-Assad of Syria must not recklessly attack Idlib Province,” he wrote on Twitter. “The Russians and Iranians would be making a grave humanitarian mistake to take part in this potential human tragedy. Hundreds of thousands of people could be killed. Don’t let that happen!”

President Bashar al-Assad of Syria must not recklessly attack Idlib Province. The Russians and Iranians would be making a grave humanitarian mistake to take part in this potential human tragedy. Hundreds of thousands of people could be killed. Don’t let that happen!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2018