Former President Donald Trump on Saturday commemorated the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, by torching President Biden for the bungled withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
In a pre-recorded message released early Saturday, Mr. Trump starts with an expression of deep condolences to those who lost loved ones and praises the nation’s first responders.
But he quickly pivots in the roughly two-minute remarks to slamming Mr. Biden as both “a fool” and “inept.”
“The leader of our country was made to look like a fool and that can never be allowed to happen,” Mr. Trump says. “It was caused by bad planning, incredible weakness, and leaders who truly didn’t understand what was happening.”
“This is the 20th year of this war, and it should have been a year of victory and honor and strength. Instead, Joe Biden and his inept administration surrendered in defeat,” he said. “We will live on but sadly our country will be wounded for a long period of time.”
Mr. Trump also honored the 13 U.S. service members killed last month in a terrorist attack at the Kabul airport and slammed the Biden administration for leaving military equipment behind that has since fallen into the hands of the Taliban.
The U.S. fully exited Afghanistan last month, ending the country’s longest-ever conflict. But the exit was marred by chaos and a rushed airlift as the Biden administration scrambled to evacuate Americans and Afghan allies.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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