Senator Murphy Faces Backlash for Blaming Biden’s Afghanistan Disaster on Trump

Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) came under fire this week after attempting to shift blame for President Joe Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan onto former President Donald Trump. The chaotic exit in August 2021, which led to the deaths of 13 U.S. service members during an ISIS suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport, has been widely criticized as a catastrophic failure of leadership.

“Trump owns the Afghanistan withdrawal,” Murphy claimed on X, alleging that Trump’s deal with the Taliban forced Biden into a "chaotic exit" that was inevitable. This assertion drew immediate and fierce backlash from across the political spectrum.

• False Narrative: Murphy’s claim ignores the fact that Biden had the authority to alter or abandon Trump's withdrawal plan but chose not to, resulting in the debacle that unfolded.

• Biden's Accountability: Despite Murphy's comments, Biden himself took responsibility for the withdrawal in January 2022, stating, “And I make no apologies for what I did.”

• Widespread Criticism: Murphy’s comments were condemned by military veterans, political commentators, and lawmakers who pointed out that Biden’s unforced errors, such as the decision to close Bagram Airfield and withdraw troops before evacuating civilians, directly led to the chaos.

One of the most pointed responses came from the popular Military Arms Channel on YouTube, which said, “F*ck you. Seriously. This is disgusting behavior. You know full well Trump had nothing to do with Biden ignoring his generals and doing the withdraw the way he did. That’s 100% on him.”

Political commentator Stephen L. Miller added, “That wasn’t Trump who closed the airfield and opened up the prisons which led to the bottlenecking of people falling off wheelwells, and 13 soldiers being murdered.”

Even Biden’s fellow Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris, have acknowledged their role in the withdrawal decisions. When CNN’s Dana Bash asked Harris if she was the last person in the room when Biden made the decision, she responded affirmatively, further cementing the administration's ownership of the debacle.

Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) dismantled Murphy’s narrative by noting that both the Bush and Obama administrations also negotiated with the Taliban, but that Biden chose to withdraw unconditionally, “pulling our military before our civilians and allies.”

Murphy’s attempt to rewrite history has only deepened the criticism surrounding the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal. As more details emerge, it is increasingly clear that the disastrous outcome rests squarely on the current administration.

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