Elections

Trump disagrees with Mike Pence on targeting military targets of Syria's Assad

Trump: I disagree with Pence on Russian involvement in Syria
VIDEO1:5201:52
Trump: I disagree with Pence on Russian involvement in Syria

Donald Trump said Sunday night he doesn't favor using American forces to strike military targets of Syrian President Bashar Assad, a position that puts him at odds with his running mate, Mike Pence.

"He and I haven't spoken, and I disagree," Trump said at the presidential debate with Hillary Clinton when asked about Pence's view that American military should be used if Russia continues being involved with airstrikes to help the Assad regime.

"I believe we have to get ISIS," Trump said, referring to the so-called Islamic State terror group. "We have to worry about ISIS, before we can get too much more involved" in Syria.

"I don't like Assad at all, but Assad is killing ISIS. Russia is killing ISIS, and Iran is killing ISIS. And those three have now lined up because of our weak foreign policy."

Trump accused Clinton and her successor as secretary of state, John Kerry, as well as President Barack Obama of making Iran "strong" and "into a very powerful nation and a very rich nation, very very quickly."

"With Iran, who you made very powerful with the dumbest deal I've ever seen, the Iran deal, with the $1.7 billion in cash, which is enough to fill up this room," Trump said without completing the sentence.

When Clinton noted that she had left office as secretary of state before the nuclear agreement with Iran, which resulted in the release of Iranian funds frozen by the United States, Trump was dismissive, saying she was probably in touch with Obama at the time.

Correction: This story was revised to correct that Clinton had left office as secretary of state before the agreement with Iran was reached.