NBC's chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel said Wednesday that a doctor in Syria told him President Obama has not done anything for the people in Syria, especially in the city of Aleppo.
Engel was speaking with MSNBC anchor Kate Snow, who asked him about Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's remarks on President-elect Donald Trump's victory last week.
"Before I let you go, I have to ask you about the impact of last week's election. In an interview this week, the Syrian President Assad said that Trump could be a "natural ally" in Syria. With all your breath of knowledge and experience and the sources you talk to, what do you expect could change under a President Trump?" Snow asked.
Engel said it is hard to determine what is going to happen in specific conflicts but noted that he did ask a Syrian doctor about Trump's election.
"The doctor actually said President Obama hasn't done anything for us anyway. Look what just happened now. He's in the basement of a destroyed hospital and he frankly didn't think that anything could get worse," Engel said.
"And he thought maybe with a new president things could get better, so frankly if you're at rock bottom, which is what they are at in eastern Aleppo, maybe any change looks good," he added.
At least 87 people, including four children, were killed Wednesday by airstrikes over rebel-held eastern Aleppo, CNN reported.
The Al-Shaar neighborhood appeared to be the worst hit, with barrel bombs striking the Children's Hospital, Al-Bayan Hospital and the Central Blood Bank, staff on site with the Syrian American Medical Association (SAMS) told CNN. Buildings nearby were completely flattened.
Bebars Meshaal from the Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, put the death toll at 27 and said three additional bodies had been recovered from bombings the previous day, when regime forces resumed its air raid over eastern Aleppo after a three-week lull.