President Joe Biden’s pandemic response has been criticized as the delta variant rips through unvaccinated communities, but the White House appears to prefer speaking about COVID-19 to addressing the unexpected fall of the Western-backed Afghan government.

But Biden’s awkward attempt to pivot to the coronavirus only amplified his mishandling of the United States’s withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years of war. The president refused to answer questions as his administration struggles to evacuate tens of thousands of Americans and Afghan allies from Kabul.