At a victory rally in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, President-elect Donald Trump pledged to reclaim U.S. military equipment left in Afghanistan under the previous administration.
Addressing a crowd of supporters, Trump criticized the handling of the U.S. military withdrawal, alleging that billions of dollars worth of equipment had been abandoned and subsequently seized by the Taliban.
“We will strengthen and modernize our military again,” Trump declared. “We rebuilt our entire military, and then they gave billions and billions of dollars of it to the Taliban. They gave our military equipment, a big chunk of it, to the enemy.”
Trump also referenced U.S. financial aid to Afghanistan, questioning its continuation without conditions. “Do you know that we pay billions of dollars a year to Afghanistan? And I say, if we’re going to pay billions of dollars a year, tell them we’re not going to give them the money unless they give back our military equipment.”
The president-elect’s remarks suggest he plans to link financial aid to Afghanistan with efforts to retrieve the military assets left behind. The equipment, including vehicles, aircraft, and weapons, was abandoned during the U.S. withdrawal in 2021, a move that has been a point of contention in political and military circles.
Trump emphasized that the U.S. should “demand accountability” and hinted at leveraging aid as a bargaining chip. “We’ll give them a couple of bucks,” he said, “but we want the military equipment back.”
The comments come as part of broader promises to revitalize the U.S. military and address foreign policy issues, which have been central to Trump’s campaign rhetoric. The president-elect did not elaborate on how his administration plans to negotiate the return of the equipment, but his remarks were met with applause from his audience.
Trump’s victory rally also touched on other topics, including TikTok and the release of documents related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, signaling a diverse agenda as he prepares to take office.
