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Republican Utah Senator Mitt Romney assigned blame to former President Trump and President Biden for the tragic events unfolding in Afghanistan.
During his interview on CNN’s State of the Union with host Jake Tapper, Romney appeared to apply equal blame to both Trump and Biden.
Romney said, “If you focus on what we should do right now, recognize we’re in the position we’re in right now is because of terrible decisions made by two administrations.”
“This is the result of very ineffective decisions by the prior administration and the current administration,” Republican Sen. Mitt Romney says about Afghanistan. https://t.co/iHxjlcp3Jc #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/JqCeRBAog5
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) August 29, 2021
The Senator was apparently pleased with his Afghanistan comments because he promoted his CNN interview on Twitter.
What's happening in Afghanistan is a humanitarian and foreign policy tragedy–both the current and prior administration have made terrible decisions. Leaving Americans and our Afghan partners behind would put upon the U.S. a great moral stain. pic.twitter.com/4zHu3l2DTL
— Senator Mitt Romney (@SenatorRomney) August 29, 2021
The full interview was posted by CNN on YouTube.
After watching the full interview, it is clear Romney’s goal was to blame both administrations. Romney referred to the Trump and Biden administrations four times during the interview.
Romney also communicated his view that the U.S. needed to keep some troops in Afghanistan for national security reasons.
However, it was pointed out that back in 2012, when he was running for president against former President Obama, Romney wanted to pull the troops out of Afghanistan.
See transcript of Romney during the 2012 presidential debate below.
Romney's full answer in 2012 presidential debate on withdrawing from Afghanistan https://t.co/sOwq34i4EO pic.twitter.com/iU8J0rLTSK
— Steven Dennis (@StevenTDennis) August 29, 2021
Here is the entire debate transcript.
ABC News Washington, D.C. correspondent John Karl was more critical of Biden than Romney.
Karl called the current situation in Afghanistan “a disaster.”
ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent @JonKarl says Thursday was the worst day of the Biden presidency.⁰
“The big question is, does Afghanistan once again become a safe haven for terrorist attacks on U.S. interests around the world or at home?” https://t.co/UmW0Nhz9Yw pic.twitter.com/Eqa7dy1X4j
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) August 29, 2021
One can argue whether or not keeping U.S. troops in Afghanistan is a good idea but it’s obvious Biden’s withdrawal plan is a complete disaster.
Romney could have hammered out that point but he wanted to use the crisis to take a few shots at Trump.
By diverting attention from Biden, Romney will only muddy the waters making it much harder to hold the current president accountable for his horrible decision-making.
