President Obama said Friday that he will address the nation in a speech this coming Tuesday to make the case for American military intervention in Syria as he continues to face significant opposition from both Congress and the American public.
Rep. Elijah Cummings urged him to make that move on Thursday’s PoliticsNation, citing the overwhelming opposition he’s heard from his constituents.
“I’d say 95% of all the calls that we’re getting are against this action, ” Rep. Elijah Cummings said on Thursday’s PoliticsNation, and a series of polls released over the last week have shown most Americans oppose action.
“I did a little survey in my district today. They trust the president, they love the president,” he said. “But one of the things that I think will help, and I’ve been urging the president to do this–I think he needs to give a prime time speech where he really lays out the moral issues, because I think a lot of this is based on moral issues.”
“My constituents have said to me ‘Look, tell the president we want to hear from him,’” he said. “And I’m hoping and praying that the president will do this very soon.”
After the president’s announcement, Cummings released the following statement:
I commend President Obama for heeding calls from me and others to address the American people with a clear and compelling case for why the United States should strike Syria. This is an extremely critical decision for our nation, and one that is made more challenging by the mistakes of the past. I believe the President should explain why this action is in our core national security interests, how it will deter the Syrian government from using weapons of mass destruction again, and how the United States will respond if Assad retaliates or escalates his assaults on the Syrian people. I look forward to the President’s address on Tuesday.
UPDATED at 2:00pm ET
Morgan Whitaker