Herman Cain said during Saturday night’s GOP debate on foreign policy that President Barack Obama’s reaction to the Arab Spring, the democratic uprisings in several Arab countries earlier this year, has allowed the movement to go in the wrong direction — a surprising statement against democratic movements.

“You have to look at Libya, Egypt, Yemen and all of the revolutions that are going on and how the administration has mishandled them,” he said. “As a result, this has gotten totally out of hand.”

He said the revolution in Egypt, where citizens ousted long-time President Hosni Mubarak, could strain relations between the United States and Egypt, and he warned against the increased power of opposition group the Muslim Brotherhood, which formed a political party earlier this year.

“Our relationship with Egypt may not survive,” he said. “It turned out that the opposition was more of the Muslim Brotherhood, which could end up with a majority of control of this new government.”

Cain also criticized the president for his support for protests in Yemen, where the Yemeni goverment has responded with violence to peaceful protests. The White House issued a statement in April calling for Yemen’s president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to investigate violence against protesters.

“This president has already said that the president of Yemen should go,” Cain said. “He is our friend. He has been helping us fight Al Qaeda. This president has been on the wrong side in nearly every situation in the Arab world.”