London: US President Donald Trump's decision to bomb a Syrian airbase was influenced by the reaction of his daughter Ivanka, his son has claimed.
As per Eric Trump, his father was "deeply affected" by the TV images of children being "sprayed down by hoses to keep their skin from burning" after the suspected Syrian chemical attack.
The Daily Telegraph quoted the 33-year-old businessman as saying at the Trump Turnberry golf resort in Ayrshire, Scotland: “It was horrible. These guys are savages and I`m glad he responded the way he responded.”
Eric further confirmed that Trump's decision to bomb Syrian airbase to punish President Bashar al-Assad was influenced by the reaction of his sister Ivanka, who said she was "heartbroken and outraged" by the atrocity, the paper reported.
Eric said Ivanka is a mother of three kids and she has influence over the President.
"I`m sure she said 'listen, this is horrible stuff.' My father will act in times like that," he was quoted as saying by the paper.
Eric rejected claims that his father had acted impulsively after seeing the images, saying the President was "a great thinker, practical not impulsive”.
He added: "I`m proud he took that action and believe me he thinks things through."
"He (Trump) was anti doing anything with Syria two years ago. Then a leader gasses their own people, women, and children, at some point America is the global leader and the world`s superpower has to come forward and act and they did with a lot of support of our allies and I think that`s a great thing," he added.
A day before the strikes, Ivanka Trump had tweeted: “Heartbroken and outraged by the images coming out of Syria following the atrocious chemical attack yesterday.”
Eric also said the action proved that his father was not in league with Russia and would not be "pushed around" by Vladimir Putin, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Eric Trump said his father was not intimidated by President Putin`s talk of war, and there would be "no-one harder" than President Trump if they "cross us".
The comment came as Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Russia would face fresh sanctions if it did not pull its armed forces out of Syria and end its support for Assad.
As foreign ministers of the G7 group of nations met to agree the best way to put pressure on Mr Putin, Johnson said the US missile strike had "changed the game" and Russia now "needs a way out" because association with Assad`s "toxic regime is...poisoning the reputation of Russia", the report said.
(With Agency inputs)
