President Joe Biden said he “bears responsibility” for the current situation in Afghanistan that has recently unfolded, then immediately blamed former President Donald Trump at a Thursday press briefing.
“I bear responsibility for fundamentally all that’s happened, of late,” Biden said. “But here’s the deal … a former president made a deal with the Taliban; that he would get all American forces out of Afghanistan by May 1 [2021]. In return he was given a commitment that the Taliban would continue to attack others but would not attack any American forces,” Biden told Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy.
Peter Doocy asks Biden if he bears responsibility for what’s happened in Afghanistan the last 2 seeks. Biden acknowledges he does, but points out that Trump made a deal with the Taliban that contributed to the chaotic state of affairs there. pic.twitter.com/eo46M8Pmoj
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 26, 2021
The president’s remarks came hours following the Thursday morning suicide bombing explosion at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, which killed at least thirteen U.S. service members and a minimum of 60 Afghan civilians. The incident took place five days prior to the Biden administration’s Aug. 31 withdrawal deadline, which has established that all American forces will exit the country. (RELATED: Pence Accuses Biden Of Breaking Deal With Taliban, Says Withdrawal Is ‘Disastrous’ And A ‘Foreign-Policy Humiliation)
During the withdrawal process, the Taliban successfully regained control of the country after the Aug. 15 breach of Kabul, causing thousands of Afghan civilians, Americans, and those from foreign nations to rapidly attempt to evacuate. Currently, an unknown number of Americans are in Afghanistan.
The Trump administration issued a February 29, 2020, long-term peace deal with the Taliban aimed at reducing U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan after agreeing to a reduction in violence amid the Taliban’s attacks on U.S. forces. Following the peace deal, the former president had aimed to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by May 1, 2020, according to NPR.
The Biden administration extended the former administration’s May 1 deadline to Sept. 11, stating that meeting the initial deadline would be “tough” and exiting the region responsibly would “take more time.” The president vowed to end the 20-year war in Afghanistan.
Trump has continuously called on Biden to resign, first calling for the president’s resignation in an Aug. 16 statement.
“It is time for Joe Biden to resign in disgrace for what he has allowed to happen in Afghanistan, along with the tremendous surge in COVID, the Border catastrophe, the destruction of energy independence, and our crippled economy,” the former president said.
He had previously criticized Biden for his “weakness, incompetence, and total strategic incoherence” in a Saturday statement.
“The Taliban no longer has fear or respect for America, or America’s power. What a disgrace it will be when the Taliban raises their flag over America’s Embassy in Kabul. This is complete failure through weakness, incompetence, and total strategic incoherence,” he said.