Former President Trump slammed the Biden administration on Wednesday over a photo of more than 600 Afghan civilians crammed into a US Air Force jet on Sunday, claiming the plane “should have been full with Americans.”
Afghan citizens sat side to shoulder aboard a US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III for evacuation from Kabul to Qatar hours after the Taliban gained control of Afghanistan’s capital city, according to a photo taken and published by news site Defense One.
The photograph was shared by Trump’s Save America PAC on Wednesday, with the caption, “This plane should have been full of Americans.”
He went on to say, “America First!”
Karen Roxberry, a spokesperson for the United States Central Command, confirmed Monday that the US aircraft had transported a total of 640 civilians, citing “a dynamic security environment that necessitated quick decision making by the crew, which ultimately ensured that these passengers were safely taken outside the country” as the reason for the “unusually high number of passengers.”
Trump’s criticism is a change from just two days ago, when he urged the Biden administration to put civilian evacuations ahead of army withdrawals from Afghanistan.
“Can anybody fathom annihilating our military before evacuating citizens and those who have served our country well and should be permitted to seek refuge?”
In a statement on Monday, Trump questioned.
“In addition, these individuals left top-of-the-line, high-tech equipment.”
He went on to say, “Who can believe such incompetence?”
“All civilians and equipment would have been evacuated under my administration.”
In recent days, Trump and his allies have exploited the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan to criticize Vice President Joe Biden’s hasty departure of American soldiers from the nation.
President Biden defended his decision to withdraw US troops the day after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan after days of sweeping territorial gains, claiming that his hands were tied by a deal Trump had negotiated with the Taliban, under which US forces would be removed from the country by May 2021.
Biden’s defense came after Trump said that Biden “ran out of Afghanistan instead of following the plan our Administration left for him—a plan that protected our people and our property, and ensured the Taliban would never dream of taking our Embassy or providing a base for new attacks against America” in a statement on Saturday.
The Biden administration has increased its attempts to evacuate American diplomats and Afghan refugees, including Special Immigrant Visa applications (SIVs).
As of Tuesday, NBC News and The Washington Post reported that between 10,000 and 15,000 American citizens were still in Afghanistan, according to Senate aides who spoke with Biden officials.
