Trump says he's letting other countries fight ISIS in Syria after claiming they had been defeated

President Trump seems to have revised his reasoning for withdrawing U.S. troops from Syria.

Trump on Wednesday said that American troops would be coming home because "we have defeated ISIS in Syria." This assertion was roundly criticized, including by many in Trump's own party, like Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). He doubled down on the claim in a video message Wednesday evening in which he said, "We have won against ISIS."

But on Thursday, Trump suggested in a series of tweets that ISIS hasn't actually been defeated in Syria and that the U.S. is instead leaving the fighting to other countries. He implied the U.S. should not be the "policeman of the Middle East" and that it's "time for others to finally fight." He also claimed that countries like Russia are not happy with the withdrawal because "now they will have to fight ISIS and others, who they hate, without us."

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Russian President Vladimir Putin had, in fact, praised the troop withdrawal, saying per The New York Times that it was the "right decision."