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Kamala Harris, Who Boasted of Being 'Last Person in the Room' on Afghanistan Exit, Blames Trump for Botched Withdrawal

September 10, 2024

Vice President Kamala Harris, who once boasted of being the "last person in the room" when President Joe Biden finalized America's withdrawal from Afghanistan, instead blamed former president Donald Trump for the botched evacuation during Tuesday night's debate.

"Let's understand how we got to this point," Harris said after ABC's David Muir asked if she bears "any responsibility in the way that withdrawal played out."

"Donald Trump, when he was president, negotiated one of the weakest deals you can imagine" with the Taliban, Harris continued. "And this former president, as president, invited them to Camp David because he does not, again, appreciate the role and responsibility of the president of the United States to be commander in chief with a level of respect."

Harris sang a different tune as the withdrawal unfolded, telling CNN's Dana Bash in an April 2021 interview that she was "the last person in the room" when Biden made the Afghanistan decision and was "comfortable" with his plan. Months later, 13 U.S. service members died in a suicide bombing attack outside of Kabul Airport.

Trump labeled the withdrawal "embarrassing" and said the Biden-Harris administration squandered a chance for calm in the region.

"These people did the worst withdrawal, and in my opinion, the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country," Trump said. "And, by the way, that’s why Russia attacked Ukraine. Because they saw how incompetent she and her boss are."