The top House Republican claims President Joe Biden’s execution of the withdrawal from Afghanistan breaks with “everything” that the United States has stood for.
During a press conference on Wednesday, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said, “A number of our allies from ambassadors and leaders I’ve spoken to question what America will do in the future. You watch, you watch our allies try to build a bigger relationship with China now, or with Russia, because they kept their words.”
“Whereas we just had a president go against everything that America has stood for in the past. Made a decision. Won’t answer questions. We even have reports that Boris Johnson, the prime minister of the U.K., had to wait 36 hours to get a return phone call as Afghanistan was collapsing,” he continued.
Finally, he asked, “Can you imagine that? That our president [was] sitting at Camp David if the reports are true, how can that be possible?”
Watch the video below:
Rep. Kevin McCarthy on President Biden: "We just had a president go against everything America has stood for in the past." pic.twitter.com/nR0WmBR0Pz
— The Hill (@thehill) August 25, 2021
McCarthy’s comments come as Biden has faced criticism for the execution of the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The president decided against extending an Aug. 31 withdrawal date, but in a statement, White House Secretary Jen Psaki said that “our mission in Kabul will end based on the achievement of our objectives.”
The Taliban has warned of “consequences” of U.S. forces staying beyond the end of the month.
However, several Republicans urged Biden to ignore the deadline and stay until Americans and Afghan partners are evacuated.
In a statement to IJR on Tuesday, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) said, “We are the United States of America; we don’t operate at the behest of terrorists. The Taliban is eating President Biden’s lunch, and America’s stature on the world stage diminished significantly.”
And Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told Fox News, “The Taliban should not be allowed to tell us how long we are there to get our personnel out. That’s our decision, not theirs.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said that Biden should be impeached.
