Trump Campaign, Blackburn Hit Biden Administration over Botched Afghanistan Withdrawal

As the third anniversary of the Biden administration’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan that left 13 American soldiers dead and hundreds of Americans stranded nears, both former President Donald Trump’s campaign and Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) criticized Democrats for the failed operation.

“On this day 3 years ago, Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss of Tennessee was tragically killed because of Biden & Harris’ colossal failure in pulling out of Afghanistan,” Blackburn said on X. “May we never forget the 13 brave servicemembers who lost their lives because of this administration’s negligence.”

“The botched withdrawal from Afghanistan marked the deadliest attack on Americans in Afghanistan since 2011,” Blackburn said in another post. “It’s been three years since this devastating failure. When will anyone in the Biden-Harris administration be held accountable?”

Later, she laid part of the blame on Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump’s opponent in the upcoming November election.

“Kamala Harris said she was the last person in the room during the failed withdrawal from Afghanistan,” that post said. “If she truly knew about it and did nothing, her decision led to the death of 13 brave servicemembers.”

Like Blackburn, Trump’s campaign attacked his opponent over the issue, too.

“Three years ago today, 13 American heroes were killed in the Harris-Biden botched Afghanistan withdrawal,” his campaign said on X, adding a memorial video to honor the fallen troops. “To this day, Kamala Harris has never mentioned these fallen soldiers’ names. President Trump will never forget them.”

The video featured powerful testimonies from several of the family members of the troops who were killed on August 30, 2021.

“When we started hearing that the Taliban was moving in, that there wasn’t more military being deployed, and when they had decided that the Taliban was our security, that’s when I became terrified,” said Cheryl Guels, the aunt of Nicole Gee, a Marine who died during the withdrawal. “They were just kind of left there. Hung out to dry.”

“I was at work, heard about it, instantly just had that chill go through me, and I started sending messages,” said Jim McCollum, father of Marine Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum was also killed that day. “And then 3:30 in the morning that night, I got the knock on the door. You know. There’s no other reason two Marines are standing at your door.”

An X post from the Trump War Room showed Trump at a wreath-laying ceremony at the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia with a family member of one of the deceased troops.

“President Trump is spending his morning honoring the lives of the 13 warriors killed in the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal,” the post said. “Kamala Harris and Joe Biden — who still haven’t said the names of the fallen out loud — are nowhere to be found.”

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Peter D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Peter on Twitter/X.

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