Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday deemed it a “likely chemical attack” and reiterated Trump’s threat that consequences would be coming for those responsible.
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the assault on innocent lives, including children,” Pence tweeted. “The Assad regime & its backers MUST END their barbaric behavior.”
Trump’s decision to single out Putin in a tweet appeared noteworthy because Trump long has been reluctant to personally criticize the Russian leader. Even as the White House, after some delay, imposed tough new sanctions on Russia in the wake of its U.S. election meddling and suspected poisoning of a former spy on British soil, Trump left it to others in his administration to deliver the rebukes to Moscow.
Last month, Trump called Putin and, against the counsel of his advisers, congratulated the Russian president on his re-election and invited him to the White House. On Sunday, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, urged Trump to “ramp up the pressure and the sanctions on the Russian government, because, without the support of Russia, I do not believe that Assad would still be in office.”
