WASHINGTON (AP) – There was just one problem when President Donald Trump walked down the stairs of Air Force One and unceremoniously declared that the Islamic State had lost the last of its territory in Syria.
He wasn’t supposed to announce it yet.
Instead, the plan was to let U.S.-backed Syrian Defense Forces proclaim the victory, in recognition of its losses over five years of battle.
But Trump was on the tarmac on a sunny afternoon in South Florida holding a map of Iraq and Syria, which happened to be upside-down. “Here’s ISIS on Election Day,” he said, pointing to a spot showing IS-controlled territory in red. “Here’s ISIS right now,” he said, gesturing to another point.
Back in Syria, commanders fumed.