During a Sunday, August 15 appearance on Fox News' "Fox News Sunday," former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed President Joe Biden deserves all of the blame for the Taliban recapturing Afghanistan — neglecting to mention that Biden was essentially following the Trump Administration's plan for withdrawal of U.S. troops from that country, although at a slower pace. Pompeo's audacity was not lost on MSNBC's Mehdi Hasan, and the progressive firebrand called him out vehemently on his Sunday night show.
Hasan explained, "Now, as American troops pull out of Afghanistan and everything falls apart, there is an effort to rewrite history — to make it seem like everything we are seeing is all President Joe Biden's fault. And let's be clear: Joe Biden has a lot to answer for. But the reality is, of course, that it is not just the Biden Administration that got us here — as much as Trump and his acolytes might like you to believe."
"Hold on, Mike, who is this in Doha, standing next to Taliban official Mullah Baradar, who is now the de facto lead… https://t.co/VoVF40Iwxg— Mehdi Hasan (@Mehdi Hasan) 1629161080.0
Hasan played a clip of Pompeo audaciously telling Wallace, "The Biden Administration has just failed in the execution of its own plan…. The plan should have been much like we had…. It's just a plain old fact that this is happening under the Biden Administration's leadership."
And in response to Pompeo's comments, Hasan angrily told viewers, "Wow, big talk from Pompeo. Big talk. But hold on, Mike."
Showing a 2020 photo of Pompeo meeting with the Taliban's Mullah Baradar, Hasan commented, "Who is this in Doha, standing next to Taliban official Mullah Baradar, who is now the de facto leader of Afghanistan? Oh wait, that's you, Mike! That is, of course, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo with Baradar, who was released from prison in Pakistan in 2018 at the request of the Trump Administration so that he could participate in negotiations. The two of them first met in September of 2020 and again, two months later, in November — because one meeting with the Taliban was not nearly enough for tough guy Mike."
