While appearing on “Meet the Press,” Donald Trump said the Middle East would be more stable if Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi were still in power and if Bashar al-Assad were stronger.
When discussing involvement in Syria, Trump said, “You can make the case, if you look at Libya, look at what we did there: it’s a mess. If you look at Saddam Hussein with Iraq, look what we did there: it’s a mess. It’s gonna be the same thing.”
Chuck Todd then asked Trump, “You think the Middle East would be better today if Gaddafi, Saddam, and Assad were sort of… if Saddam and Gaddafi were still there and Assad were stronger?”
“It’s not even, it’s not even a contest,” Trump responded. “Iraq is a disaster. And ISIS—Don’t forget, ISIS came out of Iraq—it was the leftovers that didn’t get taken care of.”
Todd then asked Trump to clarify, “Well, let me button this up. If Saddam and Gaddafi, you think things would be more stable?”
Trump responded, “Of course it would be. You wouldn't have had your Benghazi situation which is one thing which was just a terrible situation. But, of course, it would. Libya is—is not even—nobody even knows what's goin' on over there. It's not even a country anymore.”
Trump then stated he likes that “Putin is bombing the hell out of ISIS.”
It is currently debatable whether Russia is bombing ISIS.