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Before he was president, Donald Trump wrote that the U.S. should not bomb Syria in a number of tweets from 2013 to 2014.

As the White House ordered strikes on Syria late Thursday, several of those old tweets were recirculating on Twitter, especially two in which he called for congressional approval before launching any military actions against the Middle Eastern country.

Following the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad's use of chemical weapons on his own people, killing more than 80, Trump announced Thursday's attack in an official statement .

"Years of previous attempts at changing Assad's behavior have all failed and failed very dramatically. As a result, the refugee crisis continues to deepen and the region continues to destabilize, threatening the United States and its allies."

His stance on U.S. Syria policy under then President Obama dates back to 2013 when Trump began repeatedly criticizing the potential for American involvement.

Below see Trump's past positions that began to resurface as Trump hinted at military action on Thursday.

June 16, 2013

We should stay the hell out of Syria, the 'rebels' are just as bad as the current regime. WHAT WILL WE GET FOR OUR LIVES AND $ BILLIONS?ZERO

Aug. 28, 2013

Remember, all these freedom fighters in Syria want to fly planes into our buildings.

Why do we keep broadcasting when we are going to attack Syria. Why can't we just be quiet and, if we attack at all, catch them by surprise?

Aug. 29, 2013

@walaa_3ssaf No, dopey, I would not go into Syria, but if I did it would be by surprise and not blurted all over the media like fools.

If we are going to continue to be stupid and go into Syria (watch Russia), as they say in the movies, SHOOT FIRST AND TALK LATER!

Let the Arab League take care of Syria. Why are these rich Arab countries not paying us for the tremendous cost of such an attack?

What will we get for bombing Syria besides more debt and a possible long term conflict? Obama needs Congressional approval.

Sept. 5, 2013

AGAIN, TO OUR VERY FOOLISH LEADER, DO NOT ATTACK SYRIA - IF YOU DO MANY VERY BAD THINGS WILL HAPPEN & FROM THAT FIGHT THE U.S. GETS NOTHING!

Russia is sending a fleet of ships to the Mediterranean. Obamas war in Syria has the potential to widen into a worldwide conflict.

Sept. 6, 2013

Many of the Syrian rebels are radical jihadi Islamists who are murdering Christians. Why would we ever fight with them?

If Syria was forced to use Obamacare they would self-destruct without a shot being fired. Obama should sell them that idea!

Sept. 7, 2013

President Obama, do not attack Syria. There is no upside and tremendous downside. Save your 'powder' for another (and more important) day!

Sept. 9, 2013

Don't attack Syria - an attack that will bring nothing but trouble for the U.S. Focus on making our country strong and great again!

Sept. 11, 2013

Obama must now start focusing on OUR COUNTRY, jobs, healthcare and all of our many problems. Forget Syria and make America great again!

Sept. 13, 2013

We should stop talking, stay out of Syria and other countries that hate us, rebuild our own country and make it strong and great again-USA!

Sept. 12, 2014

The so-called moderate Syrian rebels pledged their allegiance to ISIS after Obamas address. We should not be arming them!

Sept. 17, 2014

So Obama wants to bomb ISIS in Iraq & arm them in Syria? What is he doing!

Sept. 20, 2014

Do you believe that Obama is giving weapons to 'moderate rebels' in Syria.Isn't sure who they are. What the hell is he doing.Will turn on us

This isn't the first time that Trump's past tweets have complicated things for the president. Here are 19 tweets that came back to haunt President Trump.

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That's what happened to Donald Trump's presidency earlier this week when the Syrian government launched a chemical attack against civilians in the northwestern part of the country.

Syria and what the United States does next (if anything) is now the only issue on the front-burner of American politics. How does Syria react? Russia? Was this a targeted one-off or part of a broader campaign that Trump will unveil in the coming days? Will he seek congressional authorization for future strikes? Does he need to?

Those are just a few of the questions this White House and the GOP-led Congress will be grappling with over the comings days and weeks.

Now, if this does wind up being a one-off strike and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad seems sufficiently cowed into avoiding these sorts of attacks in the future, then this issue will move off the front-burner in weeks not months. The fight over healthcare, tax reform and spending bills will again re-assert their place as the primary topics of debate.

But, even if Trump and his national security advisers view this as a stand-alone strike, it could still have implications well beyond the bombing of an airbase. If Assad reacts defiantly in the face of the bombing, it's hard to see how Trump and his administration could simply walk away. If Russia moves beyond simply their current harsh rhetoric regarding the strike, it will create a massive geopolitical controversy that would need to be addressed.

While Syria, at least in the near-term, will send Trump's presidency down an unexpected path, it will also likely take some attention away from ongoing problems in his administration -- most notably in regards its various ties to Russia.

Ditto today's jobs report, which fell far below expectations. Most observers had expected job growth in March to be in the 175,000 area but it wound up way underperforming with just 98,000 jobs added. Remember that Trump pledged that he alone could make the economy work for everyone again. And that he would do it quickly.

Simply put: When Donald Trump took office, the idea that he would authorize a strike against a Syrian airbase less than 100 days into his presidency would be unimaginable. But events intervene. And presidents need to adjust. The question now is how Trump and the Congress deal with this sudden change of plans.

See original here:
Syria just changed Donald Trump's presidency

President Donald Trumpsaid he doesnt think Fox News host Bill OReilly, who has been accused of sexual harassment by several women, did anything wrong.

In an interview with The New York Timeson Wednesday,Trump defended OReilly afterthe Times reportedthat OReilly or Fox News paid five women a total of about $13 million to settle claims of sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior over the years.

I think hes a person I know well he is a good person, Trump said on Wednesday.

I think he shouldnt have settled; personally, I think he shouldnt have settled, Trump added. Because you should have taken it all the way. I dont think Bill did anything wrong.

OReilly has so far stayed silent on the scandal, despite losing at least 15 advertisers for The OReilly Factor, his primetime Fox News show.

Trumps comments echo statements he made about former Fox News chief Roger Ailes in July 2016, amid another sexual harassment scandal at the network. Trump claimed Ailes accusers had received help from Ailes and then saidthese horrible things about him.

Its very sad. Because hes a very good person. Ive always found him to be just a very, very good person. And by the way, a very, very talented person. Look what hes done. So I feel very badly, Trump told NBC.

More thana dozen women have accused Trumphimself of sexual assault. Trump called them liars and threatened to sue them after the 2016 presidential election ended, but so far has taken no legal action.

The Washington Post unearthed a video in October of Trump claiming he can grab women by the pussy because he is a celebrity. He dismissed the comment, which was made in 2005, as locker room talk.

Last week, Trump declared AprilNational Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month.

Read more:
Donald Trump Kicks Off Sexual Assault Awareness Month By ...

It is not always a bad thing for political leaders to give the impression that they are unpredictable. It makes it much more difficult for their enemies to calibrate responses. But Donald Trump is not unpredictable in a good way. He is erratic. His aides have no way of assessing what his next move will be. As a result, they can't plan ahead. Do they have any idea what they're going to do next, now that they moved the Syria conflict into a new phase? I doubt it very much.

I will never forget the first time I saw the infamous Vietnam War protest poster, titled "Q: And babies? A: And Babies." As a young girl, I stared tra...

Why yes, yes they do. However, there is a crucial difference, and it is one that is often overlooked. To make my point I'll choose an example of a very public situation, as opposed to a dingy club where the interaction isn't seen by anyone.

Beth Galey

Graduate-in-denial, journalisting, has no idea what's happening in Mr Robot

The question that the left faces is how to counter this. Certainly, it won't be an easy task, and nor is it one for a counter myth-maker like Corbyn and his Momentum gang. As the profoundly well-qualified Hillary Clinton found out, it's going to take a quite extraordinary effort, overcoming forces that are well-hidden, and very very connected.

President Trump's energy policy is doomed to failure as it comes into collision with economic reality. The advance of renewable energy sources is now unstoppable. So here is my prediction: the keystone pipeline will not get built and new coal mines will not be opened in the US or anywhere else in the world.

Which brings me to Gibraltar. British-owned since 1713, many Brits would rather the days of rationing were brought back than see Spain get their hands on the territory. Does Theresa agree with them? I'm not so sure, especially if it gets in the way of her proposals for a hard Brexit.

Andrew Shaw

Student journalist, blogger and contributor to The National Student

Trying to keep up with what's going on in the internet is like trying to chase down a steroid stuffed greyhound while wearing stilettos and thumbing through an Oxford Concise Dictionary looking for the word "Metaphor". It's not easy.

*Farhan Samanani [2013] is doing a PhD in Social Anthropology at the University of Cambridge with the support of a Gates Cambridge Scholarshi...

Gates Cambridge Scholars

Gates Cambridge Scholars are intellectually outstanding postgraduate students with a capacity for leadership and a commitment to improving the lives of others

Last week I had a surprise when I picked up my four-year-old twins from pre-school. Their teacher said one of them (Leo) had been telling the class about Theresa May taking us out of the European Union!

Linsey Wynton

Freelance journalist and TV development producer and Mum of three boisterous boys - twins plus a slightly older brother!

The beast of capitalism has slid under most noses for too long, but now it is exhibited within the White House for all to see. Trump and his team are not 'maniacs', the world has not 'gone mad'. No these people know exactly what they are doing, and they love such escapist labels. It is precisely us, civil society, that must stop them in their tracks with this loud and clear message: you may have ruled the world until now, but no longer.

To put America first, Mr Trump must put the UN second. Channeling the far-sighted leadership of UN founding father Franklin D. Roosevelt is the best way to make America great again.

People in Russia are at the mercy of the state-controlled media. People in the West needn't be. If this is the new Cold War, then the West would do well to remember what had helped it to bring down the Berlin Wall and diffuse tensions at the end of the last century.

President Trump is probably sitting in the Oval Office seething. What went wrong? Leaving aside the technical details, such as the loss of medical insurance coverage for 25 million people - scaring the moderates, or in the other extreme, not cutting costs enough for the diehards, this legislative exercise, like all major decisions, is about behaviour.

Johnny Luk

Author of The Grad Job Game and 2009 Junior British Rowing Champion.

The continual contribution and addition to London's culture, that living breathing creature that is constantly evolving, makes us who we are. The answer to the hatred and division we saw this week cannot possibly be more hate and division. Surely love and unity can be the only antidote. That, and a strong cup of tea.

Banseka Kayembe

Law graduate and creator and editor of new political blog Naked Politics: http://www.nakedpolitics.co.uk

When it comes to hair, these are troubling times. Gone are the days when the prize for blonde male political buffoonery went hands down to Boris Johns...

We found that around half of us (49%) reported experiencing anxiety specifically in relation to the US election and following inauguration of Donald Trump as president, with 29% going as far as saying they have experienced a 'fair amount' or 'great deal' of anxiety.

Cal Strode

Senior Media Officer, Mental Health Foundation

Continued here:
Donald Trump: News, satire and everything you need to know ...

The image shows Trump sitting at a table with Rex Tillerson, HR McMaster, Reince Priebus, Jared Kushner and others. Photograph: Shealah Craighead/AP

A photograph tweeted out by White House press secretary Sean Spicer has given the world a look inside Donald Trumps Mar-a-Lago situation room.

The president was at his Florida resort for talks with the Chinese president Xi Jinping when he gave approval for the launch of Tomahawk missiles aimed at one of Bashar al-Assads airbases in Syria.

After dinner on Thursday night, he crammed around a small table in the resorts reportedly freshly constructed secure room for a briefing on the progress of the strike.

The image, released by Spicer on Friday, shows Trump sitting at a table with secretary of state Rex Tillerson, commerce secretary Wilbur Ross, national security adviser HR McMaster, chief of staff Reince Priebus, special adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner and others. Sitting on the sidelines is adviser Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller and the sole woman in the group, deputy national security advisor Dina Powell. Spicer is also in shot, sitting alone in the corner, near the door.

The group was reportedly looking at a secure video feed of defence secretary Jim Mattis, vice president Mike Pence and others telling Trump that 58 of the 59 rockets launched had hit their targets.

The image of Trump and his team was instantly likened to the photograph of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and others watching the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

The photo was also pored over for clues as to who is in and out of the presidents favour.

Most noteworthy was the position of Kushner at Trumps table and Bannon on the periphery. There were also questions over why so many economy-related aides were present including Ross, treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin and Gary Cohn, director of the National Economic Council. But that could probably be explained by the other business at Mar-a-Lago, Trumps meeting with Xi, where trade was high on the agenda.

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Who's who in Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago situation room? | US ...