(Washington) Donald Trump attacked his rival Kamala Harris on Monday over the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan by paying tribute to the thirteen soldiers killed in an attack, three years after the events.
The Republican regularly tackles Joe Biden on the withdrawal from Kabul in 2021, but has turned his criticism on Kamala Harris since she took over from the American president in the race for the White House.
Speaking before the National Guardsmen’s Association in Detroit, the 78-year-old candidate called the episode a “humiliation” “brought about by Kamala Harris” [et] Joe Biden.
PHOTO BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
Joe Biden looks and Kamala Harris
The Taliban, in power in Afghanistan, seized the capital Kabul on August 15, 2021, after the collapse of the US-backed government.
On August 26 of that year, a suicide bombing killed 13 American soldiers and 170 Afghans at Kabul airport, which was crowded with people trying to flee the country.
The Republican used it as an angle of attack against his rival: “By her own admission, Kamala Harris played a key role in the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan,” Donald Trump’s campaign team said in a statement.
The latter accuses her of “even laughing when a journalist asked her about American citizens still stuck in Afghanistan.”
In April 2023, the White House released a report on the withdrawal, acknowledging intelligence failure but blaming Mr. Trump for creating the conditions that led to the rout.
PHOTO EVAN VUCCI, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Donald Trump
The executive branch said a February 2020 deal between then-President Donald Trump and the Taliban had put the incoming Biden administration in a bind by agreeing on a withdrawal date but providing no plan to carry it out.
Kamala Harris released a statement honoring the “13 dedicated patriots” and offering support to their loved ones. “My heart breaks for their pain and loss.”
The former president has repeatedly come under fire for inflammatory comments and alleged private remarks about veterans. Earlier this month, he said the country’s highest civilian honor was “much better” than the military one because veterans who receive the medal are “in very bad shape” or “dead.”