WASHINGTON – Defending his Syria decision on Monday, President Donald Trump cited a much-mocked reason:

"My great and unmatched wisdom."

Trump claimed these attributes while saying he would not allow Turkey to do anything he wouldn't approve of in northern Syria after U.S. troops leave the region: "If Turkey does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey (I’ve done before!)."

Trump's critics condemned his self-assertion, saying it sounded like something the Wizard of Oz might say.

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"In a few days, Trump will assemble another televised Cabinet meeting so all the sycophants can go on record about his truly great and unmatched wisdom," tweeted historian Kevin Kruse.

Former Sen. Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican and a frequent critic of Trump, cast Trump's language as a warning to his former congressional critics.

"I never thought I would live to see an American President speak this way, using language the can only be described as authoritarian," Flake tweeted. "Fellow Republicans, where is the line?"

Congressional Democrats also jumped in.

"Trump’s narcissism is a threat to our national security and stability around the globe," tweeted Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass.

Some commentators sympathetic to Trump also expressed alarm.

"I, in my own great and unmatched wisdom, consider this tweet to be off limits. Please destroy & obliterate it," said British television personality Piers Morgan. "@realDonaldTrump – you're the President of the United States, not some tinpot dictator."

Here's a look at some other reactions: