Trump rebukes Harris and Biden on anniversary of Afghanistan bombing that killed 13 service members

Former U.S. president Donald Trump on Monday is tying Vice-President Kamala Harris to the chaotic Afghanistan War withdrawal on the third anniversary of the suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members.

Former U.S. president Donald Trump on Monday tied Vice-President Kamala Harris to the chaotic Afghanistan War withdrawal on the third anniversary of the suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members, calling the attack a “humiliation.”

Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, laid wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery in honour of Sgt. Nicole Gee, Staff Sgt. Darin Hoover and Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss, who were killed in the Aug. 26, 2021, suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport. He then traveled to Michigan for an address to the National Guard Association of the United States conference.

“Caused by Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, the humiliation in Afghanistan set off the collapse of American credibility and respect all around the world," Trump told an audience of about 4,000, including National Guard members and their families in Detroit.

U.S. President Joe Biden administration was following a withdrawal commitment and timeline that the Trump administration had negotiated with the Taliban in 2020. A 2022 review by a government-appointed special investigator concluded decisions made by both Trump and current U.S. President Joe Biden were the key factors leading to the rapid collapse of Afghanistan's military and the Taliban takeover.

In his speech to the National Guard in Detroit, Trump said that leaving Afghanistan was the right thing to do but that the execution was poor. “We were going to do it with dignity and strength," he said. He called the attack “the most embarrassing day in the history of our country.”

Since Biden ended his re-election bid, Trump has been zeroing in on Harris, now the Democratic presidential nominee, and her roles in foreign policy decisions. He has specifically highlighted the vice-president's statements that she was the last person in the room before Biden made the decision on Afghanistan.

“The voters are going to fire Kamala and Joe on Nov. 5, we hope, and when I take office we will ask for the resignations of every single official,” Trump told thousands of National Guard soldiers. “We’ll get the resignations of every single senior official who touched the Afghanistan calamity, to be on my desk at noon on Inauguration Day. You know, you have to fire people. You have to fire people when they do a bad job.”