Trump Vows to Fire Top Officials on Day 1 Over Afghanistan Withdrawal if Elected
In a recent address to the National Guard Association in Detroit, former President Donald Trump made a bold promise about his first day in office should he win the 2024 presidential election. Trump declared that his initial action would be to demand the resignation of “every single official” involved in the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, which he termed a “calamity.”
“I will ask for the resignation of every single senior official who touched the Afghanistan calamity to be on my desk at noon on Inauguration Day,” Trump asserted. He criticized the current administration for its handling of the Afghanistan situation, emphasizing that no one was held accountable for what he described as a significant failure.
Trump’s comments come on the third anniversary of the suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport, which resulted in the deaths of 13 American service members and over 100 Afghan civilians. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.
During a CNN interview four months before the bombing, Vice President Kamala Harris confirmed that she was the last person in the room before President Joe Biden decided to pull U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Harris stated that she felt comfortable with the decision, a stance that has been criticized by Trump and others.
The former president’s remarks also reflect ongoing frustration with the Biden administration’s handling of military and foreign policy issues. Trump pointedly criticized Biden for his recent debate comment suggesting that no U.S. troops had died under his watch, a statement that angered families of fallen service members.
Darin Hoover, a Gold Star father whose son, Marine Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover, was killed in the Kabul attack, expressed outrage at Biden’s comments. Hoover criticized Biden for not acknowledging the sacrifice of the fallen soldiers and expressed frustration with the administration’s perceived lack of accountability.
Trump’s pledge to overhaul the leadership responsible for the Afghanistan withdrawal highlights his campaign’s focus on contrasting his approach with that of the current administration, emphasizing accountability and a shift from perceived failures in U.S. foreign policy.