2020 Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, an Iraq War veteran, said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" that she has no remorse about secretly meeting in January 2017 with Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad.

What she's saying: Any leader should be "willing to meet with others, whether they be friends or adversaries ... if we are serious about the pursuit of peace and securing our country.”

Background: The Hawaii Democrat has been critical of America’s interventionist foreign policy. But she continues to face backlash from Democrats and Republicans for meeting the dictator, who has used chemical weapons against civilians in the war-ravaged country and whose removal from power she opposes.