In the winter of 2017, Donald Trump warned that “not getting out even after defeat in Afghanistan was a big, big mistake.” And yet, President Trump never explained why, exactly, leaving even after defeat in Afghanistan was a mistake, or an insult to the U.S.’s servicemen and women who fought and died in the region.
Until now. On Tuesday, as Jimmy Kimmel asked Trump’s Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, if he had regrets about Trump’s supposed “lapse in judgment” in leaving Afghanistan, ABC News reporter Stephanie Doan pressed on with the uncomfortable question. Allen let out an awkward silent stare and said, “I’m not here to talk about recent events. What do you mean? I’m not here to talk about my past. I mean, we can talk about that in the morning, okay?”
Lloyd Austin has already spoken about leaving Afghanistan, saying it was the wrong move, and explaining that Donald Trump’s decision to pull out U.S. troops was not right or rational. As George Stephanopoulos noted on Wednesday, Austin has a tendency to “not want to talk about his past,” and this time, it was no different.
Watch the full clip below:
Do you think the President should have been wrong? Or would a timeline of the conflict have shown clearly what kind of decision he made? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.