footprint in afghanistan. that s the war we have been fighting 17 years now. so a lot of change in terms of military strategy and leadership at the defense department. you say it may have been in the planning a few weeks. that s what i m trying to figure out. i wonder if you had reporting or heard anything about any direct connection between the decision to make this trip now and the withdrawal from syria, possibly more in terms of troop withdrawals. is there a direct connection? this is the kind of trip he hasn t made before. he has given a number of explanations for why he hasn t made this kind of trip. is it connected directly to the decision on syria? i don t think it is directly connected. i think certainly it is falling on the calendar with that decision, but it is not like he began planning this last week because of criticism for syria. this takes many weeks of preparation. trump mentioned to reporters traveling with him today that he tried to get out to go to a war
they crack down online. we could me isis-inspired attacks here at home. ask and usual receive is working pretty well with president trump. president erdogan of turkey asked president trump to withdraw troops from syria. president trump said yes. now reportedly the united states is withdrawing 7,000 troops. so i do think other countries will follow suit. after reports about withdrawals from afghanistan and syria became public, vladimir putin coincidentally said that u.s. troops represent an obstacle to a peace treaty between russia and japan. so i do think we may see other troop withdrawals down the road. 17 years later there s still a lot of debate about america s
the democrats will have, and you ve heard me say this before, i feel like he s in a room with no doors. he can t escape. he has an acting attorney general, an acting chief of staff, an acting secretary of defense. seven investigations outside of his white house and a stock market that hasn t been this bad since the great depression, you know, december of the great depression. this is not a place where things are going along swimmingly. so, john, the new york times paints this. the swirl of recent days, a government shutdown, spiraling scandals, tumbling stock markets, abrupt troop withdrawals and the resignation of his alienated defense secretary has left the impression of a presidency at risk of spinning out of control. my question is this. since you re outside the beltway loop, does this discredit the president, or do you think anybody is paying attention? that s two separate
but fair on china or russia, never. look at the facts. if putin likes donald trump, i consider that an asset, not a liability. american troop withdrawals with mattis resignation left america s allies in europe and across the world stunned. this is a day america s allies have been dreading and fearing, hoping wouldn t come. even some of the staunchest allies are not pulling punches. secretary mattis departure, obviously that is devastating news to our national security and to the pentagon. as for his potential replacement, finding someone for the job on the same page as the president could be difficult. there are talented individuals that will come forward. the real essence do they want to raise a hand, say i ll take this job. jim sciutto cnn, washington. onto global reaction to the surprise of mattis resignation. arwa damon is with us.
secretary mattis had been building for some time. according to a senior defense official, some in the pentagon say the president had stopped listening to mattis a long time ago. in his letter, mattis brings up, quote, china and russia, writing, quote, i believe we must be resolute and unambiguous in our approach to those countries whose strategic interests are increasingly in tension with ours. the president seeming to rebut that line this morning via twitter writing, quote, there has never been a president who has been tougher but fair on china or russia, never. just look at the facts. if putin likes donald trump, i consider that an asset, not a liability. reporter: the american troop withdrawals, along with mattis s resignation, have left america s allies in europe and across the world stunned. this is a day that america s allies had been dreading and fearing and hoping wouldn t come. reporter: and even some of the president s staunchest allies at home not pulling punches.