Trump is claiming credit for a “ceasefire” agreement to clean up the disastrous situation he created, but the reality is that it’s not a ceasefire at all. Instead, Trump gave Turkey everything it wanted, attacks on our allies continue, and Trump’s fake deal only codified what Turkey has already done.

The Trump administration announced a “ceasefire” agreement that gave Turkey everything they wanted and validated Turkey’s annexation of Kurdish land.

New York Times: “The cease-fire agreement reached with Turkey by Vice President Mike Pence amounts to a near-total victory for Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who gains territory, pays little in penalties and appears to have outmaneuvered President Trump.”

CNN: “‘This is essentially the US validating what Turkey did and allowing them to annex a portion of Syria and displace the Kurdish population,’ the senior US official said. ‘This is what Turkey wanted and what POTUS green lighted.’”

After Pence announced the “ceasefire,” Turkey said it was “not a ceasefire” and shelling of civilian areas in the region have continued.

Mike Pence: “I’m proud to report, thanks to the strong leadership of President Donald Trump and the strong relationship between President Erdoğan and Turkey and the United States of America, that today, the United States and Turkey have agreed to a ceasefire in Syria.”

Turkish Foreign Minister: “This is not a cease-fire.”

Associated Press: “Fighting continued Friday morning in a northeast Syrian border town at the center of the fight between Turkey and Kurdish forces, despite a U.S.-brokered cease-fire that went into effect overnight.  Shelling and gunfire could be heard in and around Ras al-Ayn as smoke billowed from locations near the border with Turkey and the Turkish town of Ceylanpinar.”

Trump continues to defend and praise Erdogan while downplaying the violence in Syria. He touted Erdogan for doing “the right thing,”  compared the slaughtering of our allies that he enabled to a schoolyard fight, and defended Turkey’s actions, saying they “had to have it cleaned out.”

Trump on Erdogan: “He’s a friend of mine and I’m glad we didn’t have a problem because frankly, he’s a hell of a leader. And he’s a tough man. He’s a strong man. And he did the right thing and I really appreciate it and I will appreciate it in the future.’”

Trump: “This was a great thing for the Kurds.  This was a great thing for Turkey. This is great for everybody.”

Washington Post: “Addressing supporters at a campaign rally here in Texas, Trump likened the warring in Syria to a schoolyard squabble… ‘Like two kids in a lot, you’ve got to let them fight and then you pull them apart,’ Trump said. He marveled at the fighting, saying ‘it was pretty vicious,’ and adding, ‘It was nasty. … It’s not fun having bullets going all over the place.’”

Independent: “‘They had to have it cleaned out,’ Mr Trump said of Turkey’s offensive to expel Kurdish fighters and their families from the area. Ankara launched its incursion against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) a week ago, days after the Republican announced he was withdrawing American troops from the area. The SDF had been US allies in the fight against Isis.”

Meanwhile, ISIS is preparing further attacks after Trump’s abrupt withdrawal from northern Syria and abandonment of our Kurdish allies.

Washington Post: “The Islamic State is racing to capitalize on the deteriorating security situation in northern Syria, stepping up attacks on prisons as well as on the now-weakened Kurdish militia that served as the vanguard in the U.S.-led war against the group’s self-proclaimed caliphate, intelligence officials and terrorism experts say…Turkey’s week-old incursion into northeast Syria is already proving to be a propaganda windfall for the extremist group.”