CNN host Fareed Zakaria says President Trump Donald John TrumpBarr criticizes DOJ in speech declaring all agency power 'is invested in the attorney general' Military leaders asked about using heat ray on protesters outside White House: report Powell warns failure to reach COVID-19 deal could 'scar and damage' economy MORE’s missile strike in Syria shows him displaying the same qualities as America’s past leaders.

“I think Donald Trump became president of the United States last night,” he said Friday on CNN’s “New Day." "I think this was actually a big moment.”

“For the first time really as president, he talked about international norms, international rules, about America’s role in enforcing justice in the world,” Zakaria, the host of CNN's "GPS," said of Trump’s remarks explaining the military action late Thursday.

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The U.S. launched a missile strike late Thursday in response to a chemical attack earlier this week that officials said was conducted by Syrian President Bashar Assad's military.

American warships fired 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at a Syrian air base reported to be the origin of Tuesday’s deadly gas attack, the Pentagon said.

Trump’s strike, which purportedly killed at least seven people, came one day after the president admitted his view of Assad had changed upon hearing of the chemical attack’s impact on civilians.

“There can be no dispute that Syria used banned chemical weapons,” he said Thursday at his Mar-a-Largo resort in Palm Beach, Fla.

“It is in the vital national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons,” Trump added two days after a deadly gas reportedly killed 72 people, including 20 children, in Syria.

Thursday’s strike is the first direct American assault on Assad’s government and the most significant military action of Trump’s presidency so far.