Donald Trump’s Syrian missile attack represents a dramatic turn of face

Those comments alone signalled a dramatic change in policy from that of Barack Obama’s administration, which said that Assad would have to step down in order to bring resolution to the crisis in the country, CBS News reported.

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Thursday brought another shift — the launch of approximately 60 U.S. Tomahawk missiles against a Syrian air base in an act of retaliation for a gas attack that Assad’s government launched against civilians.

It came after Tillerson said, the very same day, that Assad shouldn’t have any role in Syria’s future, BBC News reported.

The chemical attack in Syria appears to have had a profound effect on U.S. President Donald Trump, who said that it “crossed a lot of lines with me… when you kill innocent children, innocent babies, little babies, with a chemical gas that is so lethal,” according to NPR.

READ MORE: Trump administration considers military options in Syria after chemical attack

Trump had previously said repeatedly that the United States should not become involved in Syria.

He tweeted the following in 2013: 

Trump also tweeted that Obama should have congressional approval if he attacks the Middle Eastern country.

Trump’s remarks to reporters on Air Force One Thursday hinted at a shift from that position, too — he said he hadn’t discussed with Congress any plans for military action in Syria.

READ MORE: U.S. launches dozens of missiles targeting Syrian airbase

As NPR political correspondent Mara Liasson noted, Trump took office with a promise to put “America First.”

“But as the new president is finding out, things happen,” she wrote.

“Missiles are fired. And the world’s greatest superpower has to respond.”