White House press secretary Sean Spicer Sean Michael SpicerKellyanne Conway to leave White House at end of month Pro-Trump duo Diamond and Silk launch new program on Newsmax TV The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Facebook - Supreme Court's unanimous decision on the Electoral College MORE said 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 decision to launch a missile strike on a Syrian air base was spurred by his view that the U.S. "can't put up with" Syrian President Bashar Assad's treatment of his people.

"The idea that you can inflict this kind of suffering and trauma and tragedy upon any human being is something that can't happen," Spicer said in an interview on Fox News that aired Saturday.

"I think there's a degree of reality we have to understand in terms of the political reality on the ground. But we can't put up with the actions that Assad has taken against his own people," he said.

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The U.S. launched nearly 60 cruise missiles at a Syrian military airfield on Thursday night in response to a chemical weapons attack in northern Syria earlier in the week allegedly carried out by the Assad regime. That chemical attack left at least 70 civilians dead, including women and children.

The Assad regime has fiercely denied conducting the chemical strikes.

The U.S. decision to carry out the retaliatory strike marked a drastic escalation of the U.S. use of force in Syria and was widely praised by world leaders. But the strike has also drawn the ire of Russia, a staunch supporter of Assad.

And while U.S. lawmakers have shown general support for the attack, many have called on the president to get authorization from Congress before taking further military action.