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President Donald Trump suggested he may be able to get back the equipment the U.S. military left behind during Joe Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
Trump made these comments at the G7 Summit while taking questions from reporters about the forthcoming agreement with Iran to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz.
In response to a question about how the deal will address Iran’s nuclear program, Trump repeatedly said he would “bomb them” if they do not comply with proposed restrictions.
He then transitioned into criticizing Biden’s foreign policy record, spotlighting the Democratic former president’s decision to withdraw from Afghanistan and abandon dozens of military aircraft, thousands of ground vehicles and more than 300,000 weapons, according to the House Budget Committee.
President Donald Trump gestures as he addresses the media alongside U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent during a closing press conference at the G7 summit, in Evian, eastern France. (Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty Images)
“Our country has become the most respected country in the world,” he said. “Look at what happened in so many different locations. Afghanistan, that horrible retreat that these people made. Leaving equipment behind. They weren’t under any pressure. Take your time.”
“I was going to get out,” he continued. “We were going to get out with dignity and pride. Take 100% of the equipment. I was even taking the tents down. But then [Biden] got in and they just left. They left all the equipment. I may get all that equipment back. Now, here’s the thing. It’s more symbolic because it’s a little old now, but we may get it all back. Afghanistan is kissing our a–.”
In June 2022, the Department of Defense estimated that $7.12 billion worth of military equipment ended up in the hands of the Taliban, which quickly seized control of the country after American troops departed.
Taliban fighters take control of Hamid Karzai International Airport and secure equipment and weapons left behind after the full U.S. military withdrawal in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 31, 2021. (Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times)
TRUMP: ‘WE DON’T RUN FROM ANYBODY’ IN BLASTING BIDEN OVER AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL
Trump and his allies have long been critical of what they view as Biden’s hasty decision to end the war in Afghanistan, which lasted for nearly 20 years.
Biden officials at the time defended the withdrawal by pointing out that the equipment seized by the Taliban was in the hands of the U.S.-aligned government in Afghanistan that ended up surrendering.
Biden himself said he believed that the Afghan fighters supported by the U.S. were going to do a better job at holding the country.
“The assumption was that more than 300,000 Afghan National Security Forces that we had trained over the past two decades and equipped would be a strong adversary in their civil wars with the Taliban,” he said on Aug. 31, 2021. “That assumption — that the Afghan government would be able to hold on for a period of time beyond military drawdown — turned out not to be accurate.”
Members and supporters of the Taliban stand on a U.S. flag during a rally marking the third anniversary of the fall of Kabul in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 14, 2024.
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Under Taliban rule, women and girls remain repressed. More than 1 million girls have been banned from secondary school and university. An April UNICEF report claimed that Afghanistan risks losing more than 25,000 teachers and healthcare workers due to the new government’s restrictions on female employment.
The country is also dealing with a hunger crisis, with roughly 17.4 million Afghans at risk for severe food insecurity this year, according to the World Food Programme.