Critics of Donald Trump were quick to dismiss his attack on President Joe Biden over the Afghanistan withdrawal, after the former president went on a rant and claimed, without evidence, that he had left a "plan" for the current administration should be implementing as American forces leave the country after decades.
Late Saturday, Trump issued a statement through his spokesperson's Twitter account claiming, "He [Biden] ran out of Afghanistan instead of following the plan our Administration left for him—a plan that protected our people and our property, and ensured the Taliban would never dream of taking our Embassy or providing a base for new attacks against America," while also adding, "After I took out ISIS, I established a credible deterrent. That deterrent is now gone. The Taliban no longer has fear or respect for America, or America's power."
Critics of Trump were quick to point out that Trump had a hand in releasing Taliban fighters -- those same ones who are now surrounding Kabul on Sunday morning.
You can see some responses below:
When did the Taliban ever have respect for the United States?— Abs (@Abs) 1628985358
Speaking of not following plans left by the previous administration\u2026https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/obama-team-left-pandemic-playbook-for-trump-administration-officials-confirm\u00a0\u2026— Democat Jorge\ud83d\ude3c (@Democat Jorge\ud83d\ude3c) 1628997288
https://www.npr.org/2020/11/17/935979468/trump-administration-wants-all-u-s-troops-out-of-iraq-and-afghanistan-by-spring\u00a0\u2026 Then there's this from @45's admin. Funny listening to a guy talk about foreign policy who ruined alliances and kissed up to dictators and autocrats his whole time in office.— Wayne Tyson (@Wayne Tyson) 1628987605
So when, where, & how, exactly did you take out ISIS then?\n\nAnd what exactly was your plan for stability in Afghanistan (apart from starting the massive troop withdrawal)?\n\nI'm sure all Americans & Afghans would love to know,\n\nAnd if it WAS such a good plan, why didn't it work?— A View From The UK (@A View From The UK) 1629024900
"Afghanistan: After Trump's 'rotten' deal, what incentive is there for Taliban to negotiate? | World News | Sky News"https://news.sky.com/story/amp/afghanistan-after-trumps-rotten-deal-what-incentive-is-there-for-taliban-to-negotiate-12377962\u00a0\u2026— Calicool63 (@Calicool63) 1628988357
Read this. #45 wanted to get out ASAP, and only slowed it down from January 15 until May 1 because.https://www.axios.com/off-the-rails-trump-military-withdraw-afghanistan-5717012a-d55d-4819-a79f-805d5eb3c6e2.html\u00a0\u2026— lessbarb (@lessbarb) 1628985188
Should he invite them over to Camp David for dinner?— billystringsphan (@billystringsphan) 1628987573
"UK Defense Secretary: International Community Will Likely 'Pay' for Trump Deal With Taliban"https://www.businessinsider.com/uk-defense-secretary-world-will-pay-trump-deal-with-taliban-2021-8?amp\u00a0\u2026— Calicool63 (@Calicool63) 1628988243
He's handling it just fine considering the disaster you left him.\n\nHey, Moron, thought you were going to be president again this weekend? HAH!\n\nNever Again!— DonSez (@DonSez) 1628995931
Apparently, somebody wants to get banned from Twitter for assisting in spreading falsehoods. \n\nNo problem.— \ud83e\udde2\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 DeeCee \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83e\udde2 (@\ud83e\udde2\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 DeeCee \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83e\udde2) 1628989231
Remember when Trump let 5,000 Taliban fighters loose in Afghanistan?https://twitter.com/travisakers/status/1426749579035303936\u00a0\u2026— William LeGate (@William LeGate) 1629029704
As a part of the 2020 Doha deal, Donald Trump and Mike Pompeo made an agreement with the Taliban to lift sanctions against the group and have 5,000 Taliban prisoners released in exchange for a 3-month cease-fire. Those prisoners now control Afghanistan.https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51689443\u00a0\u2026— Travis Akers (@Travis Akers) 1628998582
As pro-Trump voices pivot from hailing Trump for abandoning Afghanistan to slamming Biden for abandoning Afghanistan, I remember a line from a novel about Germany in the 1930s. "Our opponents have one tremendous advantage over us: their absolute shamelessness."— David Frum (@David Frum) 1629004048
From Biden\u2019s statement on Afghanistan. Interesting that he reminds us Trump and Pompeo invited the Taliban to Camp David on the anniversary of 9/11 to give concessions.pic.twitter.com/n3HhhNbWdi— \ud83c\udd71\ufe0foston John (@\ud83c\udd71\ufe0foston John) 1628977564
Dear Trumpers,\n\nDonald Trump and Mike Pompeo agreed to let 5,000 Taliban hardcore soldiers who were prisoners be released in exchange for a 3 month ceasefire.\n\nThe prisoners they released are now murdering and killing innocent people throughout Afghanistan.— Don Winslow (@Don Winslow) 1628998601
