President Joe Biden was scheduled to deliver a speech on Friday to reassure the public about his efforts to evacuate Americans and allies from Afghanistan. It started over 45 minutes late, representing how little related to the withdrawal goes according to plan.
This came only hours after the White House sounded an uncertain note about Biden’s travel schedule, delaying a trip to Wilmington as several people elicited criticism at the administration’s attempts to project a “business as usual” posture amid the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
Biden was elected as a calm and steady hand to counteract former President Donald Trump who was erratic, had frequent personnel turnover and feuds, and whose advisers included political neophytes and colorful characters. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush memorably branded Trump a “chaos candidate” during the 2016 Republican primaries.
BIDEN RISKS BEING DEFINED BY AFGHANISTAN CRISIS
That argument failed for Bush, as the Republican primary electorate was looking for a disruptor. But it succeeded for Biden as a critical mass of voters wanted conventional and experienced political leadership during a pandemic and the resulting economic disruption.
Biden is a former two-term vice president who served 36 years in the Senate, including a stint as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the beginning of the war on terror. His administration is staffed by people who served under Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
Nevertheless, allies complained about mistakes during the withdrawal from Afghanistan that they would have expected from Trump. Biden denied on Friday he had heard any pushback from allies on how the messy exit was unfolding, with the Western-backed government in Kabul collapsing more quickly than U.S. leaders anticipated.
“There will be plenty of time to criticize and second-guess when this operation’s over,” Biden said, flanked by Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. He was resolute in defending his decision to pull out the troops and said the United States would need to develop the capability of containing terror threats emanating from ungoverned spaces without permanent military occupation.
But Biden would not concede any significant errors in planning the pullout, repeating the claim his hands were largely tied by an agreement negotiated by the Trump administration pursuing a full withdrawal in May. The president is no doubt aware that some who had a hand in cutting that deal are among the most outspoken in criticizing him now, including Trump himself, who on Friday characterized Biden’s decision as a “surrender” rather than a withdrawal.
“Because of the way the media cycle works, there is going to be a magnifying glass on the events in Afghanistan over the next year,” said one foreign policy analyst with experience in the country when asked about Biden’s withdrawal. “But the media did not do a particularly good job of keeping the focus on Afghanistan for the last 20.”
That magnifying glass has not been especially flattering to Biden over the last week. His attempts to reassure voters from the podium as he spoke on Afghanistan in public have sat uneasily alongside the chaotic images from Kabul on television screens and even the press briefings from the Pentagon.
“President Biden insists on trusting the Taliban to let our people through to the Kabul airport, and bizarrely said he doesn’t have evidence that they’re not,” Sen. Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican, said in a statement. “How in the world is he not talking to people on ground in the country? Taliban fighters and their Al-Qaeda allies aren’t crossing guards wearing friendly neon vests — they’re bloodthirsty terrorists violently blocking evacuations. The President’s talking points are out of touch with reality.”
The criticism hasn’t been confined to conservative corners.
“Vulnerable Afghans at risk were looking for reassurance from President Biden. They didn’t get it,” said Amnesty International Executive Director Paul O’Brien in a statement. “They want to know that they’ll be processed for departure regardless of their eligibility for narrow and complicated visa programs. They want to know that they’ll be able to reach the airport in safety. They want to know that the US will keep running evacuations until they and their family have had a chance to flee from harm’s way. President Biden could have used his speech to reassure them, but he didn’t.”
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Some of the things that served Biden well in the campaign — such as limited press access, early lid times, a tightly regulated public schedule — have only intensified scrutiny as he grapples with major crises in office. Despite the delta variant, much of the country has reopened from the pandemic, making a “basement” strategy seem less prudent. And while Trump remains a vocal presence, many voters are no longer making the comparison when assessing Biden’s own performance.
Many swing voters who cast their ballots for Biden voted for a return to normal times. They are not seeing them yet.
