U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent decision to pull American troops out of Syria and Afghanistan left many of his allies criticizing his plan.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who usually is a strong Trump supporter, slammed the pullout decision on Thursday, calling it wrong-headed, ill-timed and a gift to America’s adversaries.
On the same day, Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade blasted Trump’s decision to pull 2,000 U.S. troops out of Syria, calling his actions “totally irresponsible.”
Trump has praised Fox & Friends many times since taking office and has had many interviews on the program.
Kilmeade said the president “blindsided” Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis with this news. Mattis announced his resignation Thursday in the wake of the troops’ withdrawal.
WATCH: Lindsey Graham slams decision by Trump to withdraw from Syria
The Fox & Friends co-host said it was a “stunning and I think irresponsible move yesterday. The president blindsided his secretary of defence, national security adviser … as well as his state department, and decided he is going to immediately evacuate 2,000 troops and the state department is already packing their bags. We are leaving Syria,” he said.
Trump took to Twitter Thursday saying the U.S. had “defeated” the Islamic State in Syria, which was his “only reason for” troops “being there” during his presidency.
But Kilmeade pushed back against this tweet, saying “nobody thinks ISIS is defeated.”
ISIS still holds territory in Syria and top leaders, including the group’s self-styled caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, remain at large.
The militants still hold a string of villages and towns in eastern Syria, where they have resisted weeks of attacks by the U.S.-supported Syrian Democratic Forces to drive them out. The pocket is home to about 15,000 people, among them 2,000 ISIS fighters, according to U.S. military estimates.
FACT CHECK: Syrian fighters counter Donald Trump’s claim that Islamic State is ‘defeated’
“Why have advisers?” Kilmeade asked.
WATCH: Mattis quits after clashing with Trump on troops
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