On Friday, former President Donald Trump took a strong stance against how current President Joe Biden managed the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, labeling it a “disgrace.” Trump claimed that his own administration would have ensured military equipment was not left behind.
“Do you recall where all that military equipment was left? We haven’t forgotten. We definitely wouldn’t have left anything behind,” Trump stated during a speech at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. “We intended to leave with dignity and strength, not as if we were running away. That was an embarrassment for Biden.”
He further questioned the decision not to fly military planes out of the country. “We simply don’t leave equipment behind. We don’t leave jets behind,” he noted, adding, “I asked, why leave a jet? It’s a $150 million plane; they could’ve just filled it with a bit of jet fuel and flown it anywhere.”
Trump asserted that during his first term, the U.S. military was rebuilt and is now stronger than ever. “Thanks to everyone in this room, America is the most powerful military on the planet. We built it,” he said, emphasizing that he played a significant role in that rebuilding.
His comments came as he honored special operations personnel involved in the attempt to capture former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, which he likened to an “unusual military operation.”
The U.S. completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, marking the end of nearly two decades of military presence. This evacuation followed an agreement reached during Trump’s presidency in February 2020 that outlined a timeline for troop withdrawal.
Biden oversaw the final steps of this exit while Taliban forces swiftly took control of Afghanistan, leading to a tragic suicide bombing at Kabul airport that claimed the lives of 13 U.S. service members and around 170 Afghan civilians.
Biden has maintained that he was bound by the withdrawal agreement made during Trump’s presidency, facing a dilemma of either completing the exit or deploying more U.S. troops back into combat. Trump countered this by asserting that his agreement was “conditions-based,” implying that withdrawal would not have happened if the Taliban had not met its obligations.
Fox News Digital reached out to Biden for comments but has not received any response as of yet.
