President Donald Trump disclosed he and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley clashed over leaving equipment in Afghanistan as the U.S. withdrew troops in 2021.
Trump, who historically has pushed to recover billions of dollars’ worth of equipment U.S. troops left in Afghanistan, said that Milley argued at the time it was cheaper to leave the equipment there.
“That’s when I knew he was an idiot,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting Tuesday. “Didn’t take long to figure that one out. But they left all that equipment. But they left their dignity behind. It was the most embarrassing moment, in my opinion, in the history of our country. Not that we got out. We should have not been there, but that we got out the way we got out with great embarrassment and death.”
TRUMP PUSHES TO RECOVER ‘BILLIONS OF DOLLARS’ OF MILITARY EQUIPMENT LEFT BEHIND IN AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL
President Donald Trump, who historically has pushed to recover billions of dollars’ worth of equipment U.S. troops left in Afghanistan, said that Milley argued at the time it was cheaper to leave the equipment there. (Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo)
Milley, who is now retired, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
The Taliban seized nearly all of the more than $7 billion worth of equipment U.S. troops left in Afghanistan during the withdrawal process, according to a 2022 Department of Defense report.
While U.S. troops removed or destroyed most of the major equipment, there were aircraft, ground vehicles and other weapons were left in Afghanistan. The condition of these items remains unknown, but the Pentagon said in the report the equipment likely would fail operationally without maintenance from U.S. contractors.
In 2021, then-President Joe Biden signed off on pulling U.S. troops from Afghanistan, following up on existing plans from the first Trump administration in 2020 with Taliban leaders to end the conflict.
HEGSETH ORDERS PENTAGON TO LAUNCH COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW INTO ‘CATASTROPHIC’ 2021 AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL
Then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon in Washington, July 18, 2023. (Manuel Balce Ceneta, File/The Associated Press)
However, Biden bore the brunt of criticism for the withdrawal after the Taliban rapidly took over Afghanistan again, and more than a dozen U.S. service members died supporting evacuation efforts.
Thirteen U.S. service members were killed during the withdrawal process due to a suicide bombing at Abbey Gate, outside the then-Hamid Karzai International Airport, as the Taliban gained control of Kabul.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced in May that he had instructed the Pentagon to launch a comprehensive review of the U.S. withdrawal to provide a more comprehensive evaluation of the event and to hold those responsible accountable.
HOUSE GOP RELEASES SCATHING REPORT ON BIDEN’S WITHDRAWAL FROM AFGHANISTAN
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced in May that he had instructed the Pentagon to launch a comprehensive review of the U.S. withdrawal. (Getty Images)
“The Department of Defense has an obligation, both to the American people and to the warfighters who sacrificed their youth in Afghanistan, to get to the facts,” Hegseth said in a memo in May. “This remains an important step toward regaining faith and trust with the American people and all those who wear the uniform and is prudent based on the number of casualties and equipment lost during the execution of this withdrawal operation.”
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While Trump tapped Milley to serve as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2019, the relationship between the two unraveled after Milley issued an apology for appearing beside Trump in uniform during a photo-op outside the White House during the 2020 protests following the death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer.
Milley said in his apology that his appearance “created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics.”
President Donald Trump departs the White House to visit outside St. John’s Church, in Washington in June 2020.
“As a commissioned uniformed officer, it was a mistake that I have learned from, and I sincerely hope we all can learn from it,” Milley said in the apology.
Since then, Trump has issued various threats toward Milley, such as appearing to suggest Milley deserved to face execution for actions including speaking to Chinese officials. Prior to departing office, former President Joe Biden issued a preemptive pardon to Milley to safeguard the retired general from retributive actions by Trump.
Hegseth yanked Milley’s security clearance in January.
Milley previously told lawmakers on the House Foreign Affairs Committee in March 2024 that he and the commander of U.S. Central Command at the time of the withdrawal, Marine Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., both advised Biden to keep some U.S. troops in Afghanistan after pulling most U.S. forces.
“The outcome in Afghanistan was the result of many decisions from many years of war,” Milley told lawmakers. “Like any complex phenomena, there was no single causal factor that determined the outcome.”