Mar 19, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Trump calls for Austin Tice to be released from Syria

Rashaan Ayesh

President Trump called on the Syrian government to release American journalist Austin Tice during a White House press conference on Thursday.

What Trump's saying: "Recovering Americans held captive and imprisoned abroad continues to be a top priority for my administration. We have one young gentleman Austin Tice, and we are working very hard with Syria to get him out. We hope the Syrian government will do that. ... Syria, please work with us, and we would appreciate you letting him out."

  • "If you think about what we've done, we've gotten rid of the ISIS caliphate in Syria. We've done a lot for Syria. ... It would be very much appreciated if they would let Austin Tice out immediately."

Context: Tice, a Marine Corps veteran from Texas, left for Syria in 2012 to work as a freelance photojournalist in the midst of the Syrian civil war. He was believed to be detained three days before his 31st birthday and has been missing since. The FBI speculates that Tice was kidnapped while reporting in a suburb outside of Damascus.

Go deeper: Journalist Austin Tice thought to be alive six years after kidnapping

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