Former President Trump called for the resignation of every official involved in the Afghanistan withdrawal on the first day of his potential second term, comparing it to firing contestants on his reality TV show "The Apprentice."
Former President Donald Trump has once again attacked the Biden administration's handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal, vowing to fire every official responsible if he is re-elected.
Speaking at a rally in Detroit, Michigan, on Monday, Trump said he would demand the resignations of "every single official" involved in the "Afghanistan calamity" on his first day back in office.
Trump Vows to Clean House and Fire Officials Responsible for Afghanistan Withdrawal
"The voters are going to fire Kamala and Joe on Nov. 5, we hope, and when I take office I will ask for the resignation of every single official," Trump said. "We'll get the resignations of every single senior official who touched the Afghanistan calamity to be on my desk at noon on Inauguration Day."
Trump compared his plan to fire officials to his time on "The Apprentice," where he famously uttered the catchphrase "You're fired."
Trump Vows to Clean House and Fire Officials Responsible for Afghanistan Withdrawal
"You know, you have to fire people," Trump said. "We never fire anybody. You got to fire them, like on 'The Apprentice.' You're fired. You did a lousy job," he continued.
"You did a terrible, terrible disservice to our country. You get fired when that happens. Nobody got fired," Trump said of the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal. "Nobody ever gets fired in this administration. It's amazing, all the bad things that have happened. Nobody ever gets fired."
Trump Vows to Clean House and Fire Officials Responsible for Afghanistan Withdrawal
Trump's comments come three years after the Aug. 26, 2021, suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport that killed 13 American service members and more than 100 Afghans.
Vice President Kamala Harris has faced criticism for her role in the withdrawal, as she was reportedly the last person in the room with President Biden before he made the decision to pull U.S. troops out of Afghanistan.
Trump Vows to Clean House and Fire Officials Responsible for Afghanistan Withdrawal
Harris has defended her role, saying that she was simply providing her opinion as a member of the National Security Council.
"I was providing my opinion as a member of the National Security Council, as were the other members of the National Security Council," Harris said in an interview with CNN.
Trump Vows to Clean House and Fire Officials Responsible for Afghanistan Withdrawal
Trump's comments are the latest in a series of attacks on the Biden administration's handling of the withdrawal. He has previously called the withdrawal a "disaster" and a "complete failure."
The Biden administration has defended its handling of the withdrawal, saying that it was the best of a bad situation.
"We were faced with a very difficult choice," Biden said in a speech in August 2021. "We could either withdraw our troops and risk the collapse of the Afghan government, or we could stay in Afghanistan and risk an indefinite war with the Taliban."
The Biden administration has also said that it has learned from the mistakes that were made during the withdrawal and that it is working to improve its evacuation procedures.
Gold Star families have criticized the Biden administration for its handling of the withdrawal, saying that it was chaotic and poorly planned.
"The rage, the absolute disgust that I got from hearing him say that," said Darin Hoover, Gold Star father of Marine Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover, who was one of the 13 American service members killed in Kabul. "I started yelling back at the TV just out of frustration."
The Biden administration has said that it is committed to supporting Gold Star families and that it will continue to work to improve its evacuation procedures.
