The Islamic State "awakens the lion" with the beheading of American journalist James Foley, which will result in support for more bombings against the terrorist group, Donald Trump told "Fox & Friends."
"By making such a public display of that horrible act, it awakens the lion," the real estate and entertainment mogul said Monday. "They made a terrible mistake, because people that really wanted to stay out [of Iraq] are actually saying, 'We ought to go in and bomb the hell out of them.'"
Trump predicted that President Barack Obama would "get tougher" with his foreign policy following the video that the terrorist group, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), released Aug. 19 of Foley's beheading.
Story continues below video.
"You're going to have to take strong action, because, ultimately, some really bad things are going to happen for this country. You have to nip it in the bud. And it's got to be nipped strongly," he said.
Since the Islamic State poses a threat to other countries, Trump questioned why they aren't actively partnering with the United States to combat the terrorist organization.
"Countries that are really strongly affected by this aren't taking action," he said. "We're doing all of this work for other countries. Why aren't other countries doing things? And countries that are, frankly, much more affected than we are?"
Obama playing golf directly after holding a news conference about Foley's death was a "terrible picture," Trump said. It should be all right for the president to play golf, he maintained, but not "with the same three guys all the time."
"He ought to be playing with his opponents, and become friends with them, and make deals that are good for the country, instead of having this total gridlock. But this was a bad time to be playing golf," he said.
Related Stories: