By — Vivian Hoang Vivian Hoang Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-harris-slams-trump-for-taliban-negotiations Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter WATCH: Harris slams Trump for Taliban negotiations Politics Sep 11, 2024 12:06 AM EDT Vice President Kamala Harris defended President Joe Biden’s decision to leave Afghanistan in response to a debate question on whether she, as vice president, bore any responsibility for the way the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan played out. “Four presidents said they would [withdraw], and Joe Biden did,” Harris said. “As a result, America’s taxpayers are not paying the $300 million a day we were paying for that endless war, and as of today, there is not one member of the United States military who is an active duty in a combat zone in any war zone around the world — the first time this century.” Harris then blamed former President Donald Trump’s handling of U.S.-Afghan relations for causing the problems that the Biden-Harris administration inherited. “Donald Trump, when he was president, negotiated one of the weakest deals you can imagine. He calls himself a deal-maker. Even his national security adviser said it was a weak, terrible deal.” Harris slammed Trump for negotiating directly with the Taliban instead of the Afghan government and bringing terrorists to a historic site of American leadership and democracy. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. Enter your email address Subscribe Form error message goes here. Thank you. Please check your inbox to confirm. “The negotiation involved the Taliban getting 5,000 terrorist Taliban terrorists released, and get this — no, get this — and the president at the time invited the Taliban to Camp David, a place of storied significance for us as Americans, a place where we honor the importance of American diplomacy, where we invite and receive respected world leaders, and this former president, as president, invited them because he does not again appreciate the role and responsibility of the president of the United States to be commander-in-chief with a level of respect,” Harris said. Harris and Trump met for their first and possibly only debate on Sept. 10, hosted by ABC in Philadelphia. Harris replaced President Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee this summer after Biden gave a troubling debate performance in June, increasing calls for him to drop out of the race. According to the latest PBS News/NPR/Marist poll, more than two-thirds of Americans say they will watch all or most of the debate. While many voters have already made up their minds, 14 percent of Americans say the debate will have a great impact on which candidate they choose. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now By — Vivian Hoang Vivian Hoang Vivian Hoang is PBS News' Jim Lehrer Fellow.
Vice President Kamala Harris defended President Joe Biden’s decision to leave Afghanistan in response to a debate question on whether she, as vice president, bore any responsibility for the way the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan played out. “Four presidents said they would [withdraw], and Joe Biden did,” Harris said. “As a result, America’s taxpayers are not paying the $300 million a day we were paying for that endless war, and as of today, there is not one member of the United States military who is an active duty in a combat zone in any war zone around the world — the first time this century.” Harris then blamed former President Donald Trump’s handling of U.S.-Afghan relations for causing the problems that the Biden-Harris administration inherited. “Donald Trump, when he was president, negotiated one of the weakest deals you can imagine. He calls himself a deal-maker. Even his national security adviser said it was a weak, terrible deal.” Harris slammed Trump for negotiating directly with the Taliban instead of the Afghan government and bringing terrorists to a historic site of American leadership and democracy. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. Enter your email address Subscribe Form error message goes here. Thank you. Please check your inbox to confirm. “The negotiation involved the Taliban getting 5,000 terrorist Taliban terrorists released, and get this — no, get this — and the president at the time invited the Taliban to Camp David, a place of storied significance for us as Americans, a place where we honor the importance of American diplomacy, where we invite and receive respected world leaders, and this former president, as president, invited them because he does not again appreciate the role and responsibility of the president of the United States to be commander-in-chief with a level of respect,” Harris said. Harris and Trump met for their first and possibly only debate on Sept. 10, hosted by ABC in Philadelphia. Harris replaced President Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee this summer after Biden gave a troubling debate performance in June, increasing calls for him to drop out of the race. According to the latest PBS News/NPR/Marist poll, more than two-thirds of Americans say they will watch all or most of the debate. While many voters have already made up their minds, 14 percent of Americans say the debate will have a great impact on which candidate they choose. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now