SYRIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump slapped back at one of his biggest supporters-turned-gadfly on Thursday [12-20-18], accusing Sen. Lindsey Graham of opposing fewer military casualties by urging Trump to reconsider pulling U.S. forces out of Syria. Since word got out that Trump had made the sudden decision to begin withdrawing troops from the conflict-riven country, backlash from both sides of the aisle has come swiftly and only intensified. Graham has been one of the most vocal critics of Trump’s plan and has saturated any media the president is sure to see — especially Twitter and cable TV — to express his outrage. On Wednesday night, Graham said the abrupt move, in which Trump broke with his national security team, would be a ‘stain on the honor of the United States.’ In a news conference Thursday, Graham implored the president to reverse course and promised that Trump would incur the senator’s wrath if he did not.”
–Caitlin Oprysko, “Trump torches Graham for criticizing his Syria troops plan,” Politico, December 20, 2018 3:05 pm