John Bolton said Donald Trump ‘fully supported’ the withdrawal from Afghanistan and would have done so if elected, despite criticizing Biden for the decision.

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Former National Security Adviser John Bolton on CNN. CNN

John Bolton said there was no difference between Trump and Biden’s position in Afghanistan.

Bolton will be Trump’s national security adviser between 2018 and 2019.

Trump criticized Biden in Afghanistan but Bolton said he “fully supported” the troop withdrawal.

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Donald Trump’s former National Security Adviser John Bolton said there was no difference between Trump’s and President Joe Biden’s position on the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, despite Trump’s call for Biden to “resign from shame ”on the emerging crisis in the country.

Trump has been critically critical of his successor since Taliban forces captured nearly all of Afghanistan in the weeks following Biden’s decision in April to withdraw the remaining U.S. troops from the country.

Bolton, who served as national security adviser under Trump between 2018 and 2019, said that despite Trump’s criticism of the president he actually supported his own withdrawal, comparing the pair to “Tweedledum and Tweedledee. “

Asked if the withdrawal was a mistake, Bolton told CNN Tuesday: “There are two mistakes at work here. The first is the strategic mistake of the withdrawal, which Biden made but which Trump fully supported. If selected again Trump, he is “D is doing the same thing. On this question of withdrawal from Afghanistan, Trump and Biden are like Tweedledee and Tweedledum. “

He said Biden had primary responsibility for the way in which U.S. troops were withdrawn following chaotic scenes at Kabul airport as Afghans attempted to flee the country and the U.S. scrambled to evacuate the diplomats and other citizens.

“The second question is: Did the retreat take place in the best possible way? And the answer there is no. It’s been a disaster and it’s only going to get worse.

“I think Biden has a primary responsibility for that, even though you can see now that fingers are pointed that Trump hasn’t left us with any plans. We’ll see how it shakes.”

The story continues

Taliban fighters stand outside the Interior Ministry in the Afghan capital Kabul on Aug. 15. Stringer / Reuters

Trump said this week that his administration could better handle the situation. Trump in April called Biden’s plan to pull troops out of Afghanistan a “wonderful and positive thing to do.”

On Monday, he released a series of statements exploding Biden for his handling of the retreat.

“Joe Biden first surrendered to COVID, and it went back to fury. Then he surrendered to the Taliban, which quickly overtook Afghanistan and broke confidence in American power and influence,” Trump said in a statement.

“The outcome in Afghanistan, including the withdrawal, would have been different if the Trump Administration had taken over. Who or what will give up on Joe Biden next? Someone should ask him, if they can find him.”

Former Trump Defense Secretary Mark Esper also suggested this week that Trump changed the situation in Afghanistan during his own presidency by breaking a conditional deal between the U.S. government and the Taliban that struck in 2020.

Esper said Trump continued to pull troops into Afghanistan despite the Taliban’s refusal to support the conclusion of the agreement.

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