Calling himself "an island of one," Donald Trump is convinced that his decision to potentially kick off World War III in Syria was the right thing to do. Or he knows that it was entirely in his personal interest—those hotels in Istanbul—and will say whatever he thinks gives him a modicum of cover for his grifting.
Trump made the decision to "bring the troops home" after days of agitating for the pullout, The Washington Post reports, "even while the Pentagon was making public assurances that the United States was not abandoning its Kurdish allies in the region." Not even congressional Republicans were able to convince him otherwise, and in fact may have driven him further.
"Trump has closely watched that kind of public criticism in recent days—complaining frequently about comments from Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) in particular," the Post reports, based on interviews with administration officials, "but has been encouraged to stay the course by other allies who support a withdrawal, such as Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson, according to administration officials." When you have Rand Paul and Tucker Carlson, what else do you need—If you're Trump. Besides, he knows Graham will fall in line, because that's what Graham does. Graham's sanctions plan will give likely be watered down to the point where it doesn't really impact Turkey, but will give everyone, including Trump, cover.
He won't get pushback from his pet Republicans, and he and everyone else know it.
“Republican senators are going to increasingly resemble a herd of ostriches with their heads in the sand," Dan Eberhart, a Republican donor, told the Post. "They don't want to break with Trump while simultaneously wanting to disagree with his policy on allowing Turkey to get away with exterminating the Kurds inside Syria."