During the 2020 presidential campaign, then-candidate Joe Biden made a promise to end America’s longest war, the war in Afghanistan.
He made good on that promise this summer, agreeing to withdraw all American troops from the war-torn country by August 31. In doing so, Biden followed through on an agreement his predecessor Donald Trump signed with the Taliban.
Conservatives — including Trump — have nonetheless criticized Biden. The former president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., is now joining in the criticism.
Trump Jr. Blasts Biden
Speaking on Newsmax Wednesday evening, Trump Jr. argued that the Taliban are taking over Afghanistan because Biden mishandled the withdrawal.
Unlike Biden and his allies, the Trump administration "had a plan" for withdrawal, Trump Jr. said.
"They didn’t want to pull out during the fighting season. Joe Biden wanted to wait because he wanted the photo op… Joe Biden wanted credit for the withdrawal. So he changed Trump’s plan. He tried to do it himself. He waited until the peak of the fighting season. He put no conditions on."
Watch The Video Below
More importantly, Trump Jr. continued, the Taliban do not fear Biden like they feared the previous administration.
The former president’s eldest son said that "everyone looks at Joe Biden and all they see is an old man on his last legs, a man that can’t walk up a flight of stairs, an empty suit who can’t complete a sentence."
”There’s a difference. When they look at Trump, they understand that he has resolve, that he means business, that he is not to be trifled with. So they didn’t," he added.
Incompetence
What is going on in Afghanistan can best be described as a "massive scale hostage situation," according to Trump Jr., who argued that the Biden administration is displaying unprecedented incompetence.
"This is the same administration that doesn’t want an American citizen to protect themselves with an AR-15. The level of incompetence knows no bounds," he said.
Biden on Tuesday held a press conference defending his decision to go through with the withdrawal, and said that he won’t repeat the mistakes his predecessors made.
Polls
Democrats, Republicans and members of the press have criticized Biden for withdrawing the troops, but the American public is behind him, polling suggests.
As MSNBC reported, in the latest Politico/Morning Consult poll, 49 percent of respondents expressed support for the U.S. exit from Afghanistan, while 39 percent opposed it.
Similarly, new polling from Data for Progress found that voters support the decision to withdraw by a 14-point margin. Data for Progress also established that most Americans — including a plurality of Republicans — support the administration’s effort to bring American allies from Afghanistan to the U.S.
