(Headline USA) Former president Donald Trump lambasted President Joe Biden Thursday after a terrorist attack left 13 U.S. service members dead and at least 15 more wounded in Kabul, Afghanistan.
The former president kicked off an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity by placing the blame for Thursday’s attacks squarely at the feet of Biden, calling it the “lowest point” since going into Afghanistan 20 years ago.
“This tragedy should never have taken place,” Trump said. “It should never have happened, and it would not have happened if I were your President. Over the past few weeks, I know that many Americans have felt profound sorrow and even pain watching the events taking place in Afghanistan and perhaps none moreso than the veterans of that 20-year war.”
President Trump also issued a message to the killed and wounded U.S. service members and the families affected by Thursday’s attacks..
“Noble American warriors laid down their lives in the line of duty,” Trump said. “They sacrificed themselves for the country that they loved, racing against time to rescue their fellow citizens from harm’s way. They died as American heroes, and our nation will honor their memory forever. I want to express my deepest condolences to the families of those we have lost. Today, all Americans grieve alongside you. Together we also pray that God will heal the other courageous service members who were wounded in this heinous attack.”
Trump went on to lay out the several mistakes Biden made, pointing out that now the terrorist forces have the U.S. weapons and equipment.
“They forgot one thing,” Trump said. “They forgot to take the people with them and the merchandise with them. It’s hard to believe…because a child would have understood. How could they have done this to our country? We have been put in the worst position we could possibly be put in. Nobody would have thought that this could have been possible.”
Another key point of criticism against Biden was that the Taliban was given a list of names of Americans and Afghans to evacuate, something one defense official called a “kill list.”
“The Taliban is the enemy,” Trump said. “I dealt with the leader of the Taliban. Look what happened with their protection.”
“This country has never seen stupidity like this,” Trump added. “Our country is only in trouble. What you are watching now is only going to get worse.”
The former president argued that during his term, the Taliban knew better than to make aggressive moves like they did under Biden because he would have immediately conducted air strikes against them. Trump also laid out things he would have done differently, foremost among them making sure the U.S. equipment and people made it out of the country before the military left.
Trump said China and Russia will likely study the abandoned equipment, which has important software and other military secrets. He called it the “dumbest thing to happen in the history of our country.”
Trump said he would have also kept the Bagram air base because of its proximity to China and Iran.
“They spent 10 billion dollars building it, and we handed out the keys,” he said. “It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Biden gave a speech Thursday defending his decision to withdraw from Afghanistan and saying that he would hunt down the terrorists involved in the attack.
“I will also order my commanders to develop operational plans to strike ISIS-K assets, leadership, and facilities,” Biden said. “We will respond with force and precision at our time, at the place that we choose, at the moment of our choosing.”
Biden took criticism for the press conference, in part for reiterating that the Taliban has been entrusted to provide security for the airport, but also because of comments he made showing that someone else was telling him which reporters to call on.
“The first person I was instructed to call on was….” is how Biden kicked off taking questions from reporter. This raised criticism from critics who asked why the president was being told who to call on. That critique ties into ongoing questions about Biden’s mental fitness.
Those concerns were heightened when Biden dropped his head low and appeared to rest it during questioning from Fox News’ Peter Doocy.
Trump spent the bulk of his Hannity interview dismantling Biden’s Afghanistan strategy, but also raised concerns about inflation and gas prices.
“Food prices are doubling and are going to be tripling,” he said. “We have a very, very tough time to come.”
He ended the interview by saying he cannot formally speak about a run for president because of campaign finance laws, but said people will be “very happy” with his decision.
“I just think people are going to be very happy, but that’s right because of campaign finance reasons I can’t talk about it,” he said. “If I could, I’d be talking right now, but people are going to be very happy.”
