US President Donald Trump has harshly criticised former President Joe Biden’s administration over what he described as the “most embarrassing moment in the history of our country” — the 2021 withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan.
Speaking at the National Republican Congressional Committee Dinner on April 8, Trump said the chaotic scenes during the evacuation from Kabul would not have occurred had he been in office. “The disaster would have never happened,” he asserted.
While reaffirming his own commitment to withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, Trump emphasized that he would have retained control of Bagram Air Base, which he called one of the largest air bases in the world. “Not for Afghanistan but because it’s one hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons,” he noted, claiming that the facility is now under Chinese control.
He also criticised Biden’s decision to evacuate through Kabul International Airport rather than Bagram, describing the move as “stupid” and strategically flawed. “They left from a local little airport, which was crowded like crazy,” he said.
Referring to the deadly bombing at Abbey Gate on August 26, 2021, Trump said: “The bomb went off and decimated hundreds of people. Killed hundreds. We lost 13 soldiers. But we also had 42 or 48 horribly injured — arms, legs, faces. Horribly injured.” More than 170 Afghan civilians were also killed in the attack.
Trump attributed the loss of life and chaos to what he called a failure of leadership. “All because we had a stupid leader,” he concluded.
