President Joe Biden in a July 23 phone call repeatedly pressured the president of Afghanistan to "project a different picture" of the U.S. military withdrawal "whether it is true or not," according to a transcript leaked by a noble patriot who risked his or her life to tell the American people the truth about our reckless commander in chief.
"I need not tell you the perception around the world and in parts of Afghanistan, I believe, is that things aren't going well in terms of the fight against the Taliban," Biden told Afghan president Ashraf Ghani during the 14-minute phone call. "There's a need, whether it is true or not, there is a need to project a different picture."
Ghani, who fled the country three weeks later as the Taliban advanced toward Kabul, urged Biden to authorize American air support to assist the Afghan army, which was "facing a full-scale invasion." The president declined, suggesting instead that Afghan leaders hold a press conference to "change [the] perception" that the Taliban was on the verge of taking over the country.
Biden's repeated efforts to pressure Ghani into making false or misleading statements about the situation in Afghanistan, especially during a conversation about U.S. financial and military assistance, is likely to arouse concern among American voters who oppose corruption and abuses of powers from their leaders.
The contents of the call were first reported by Reuters, whose reporters reviewed a transcript and recording of the conversation between the two leaders. Given the embarrassing and potentially impeachable nature of Biden's remarks, these materials were likely revealed by a noble patriot who eschews partisanship because his or her only loyalty is to the U.S. Constitution.
Lawmakers may be compelled to extend special whistleblower protections to anyone who played a role in exposing Biden's abuse of power, as any whistleblowers' actions may have put their lives at risk. The president has a history of losing his temper at employees who question his judgment and once threatened to run over a journalist with a truck.
Members of Congress must also consider whether to impeach Biden for his actions, just as they impeached former president Donald Trump for allegedly pressuring a fellow world leader to take questionable action in an effort to improve the political optics surrounding his presidency.
During a rambling and incoherent address from the White House, the president on Tuesday took credit for the "extraordinary success" of the military withdrawal from Afghanistan and simultaneously blamed Trump and the cowardly Afghan people for the Taliban's rapid takeover of the country.
"That assumption, that the Afghan government would be able to hold on for a period of time beyond military drawdown, turned out not to be accurate," Biden said. "But I still instructed our national security team to prepare for every eventuality, even that one. And that's what we did. So we were ready when the Afghan security forces, after two decades of fighting for their country and losing thousands of their own, did not hold on as long as anyone expected."
Trump's decision to negotiate with the Taliban and withdraw U.S. forces, Biden implied, was a disastrous one. His own decision to negotiate with the Taliban and withdraw U.S. forces, however, was "the right decision, a wise decision, and the best decision for America." He insisted that the disastrous withdrawal and chaotic evacuation from the airport in Kabul had gone exactly "as designed," even though 13 service members lost their lives and hundreds of American citizens were left behind.
A recently published Rasmussen poll found that a majority of likely voters think Biden should resign over his botched handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal. A majority of respondents also think Vice President Kamala Harris is unqualified to replace him.
Donald J. Trump did not respond to a request for comment.