Biden criticized by media over handling of Afghan crisis
Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino have the latest on the Taliban takeover on 'America's Newsroom'
MSNBC anchor Nicolle Wallace heaped praise for President Biden's address amid the turbulent military withdrawal from Afghanistan that has led to the abrupt takeover by the Taliban.
With the security situation in Afghanistan quickly deteriorating, Biden returned to the White House Monday amid growing pressure to address the unfolding events. Biden spent much of his time blaming past administrations and Afghanistan's military forces for the situation in the country before refusing to take questions from the media after finishing his remarks.
"It is wrong to order American troops to step up when Afghanistan’s own armed forces would not," Biden said of the collapse of the Afghan military, a fighting force Biden assured Americans last was prepared for the absence of the U.S. military.
Biden assured Americans that he "squarely stands behind" his decision to leave Afghanistan, though he admitted that the pace of the Taliban's offensive did catch his administration off guard.
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"This did unfold more quickly than we anticipated," Biden said, noting that the U.S. "could not provide them with the will to fight for that future."
Following Biden's remarks, Wallace strongly suggested that the American people will stand behind the president despite the turmoil that has taken place on the ground.
"Ninety-five percent of the American people will agree with everything he just said. Ninety-five percent of the press covering this White House will disagree," Wallace said. "And for an American president to finally be completely aligned with such an overwhelming majority of what the American people think about Afghanistan is probably a tremendous relief to the American people."
"He also went a long way toward really fleshing out a Biden doctrine. And there are questions about whether he can achieve what he set out. But there is no equivocation, there is no lack of confidence that this is the right decision. And what he has going for him is a vast majority of Americans in both political parties," Wallace continued.
The "Deadline: White House" anchor later praised Biden's "firm resolve," calling him "unapologetic" and "confident."
She appeared to echo the president's talking points, including blaming President Trump for the messy withdrawal.
"As the president noted in his speech… his decision was not made in a vacuum. He was dealt an unwinnable hand by his predecessor," Wallace said.
Critics mocked the "Deadline: White House" anchor for suggesting she's in tune with the American people.
"Is there a single member of the media more out of touch with Americans than Nicolle Wallace?" Fourth Watch media critic Steve Krakauer asked.
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Fox News contributor Joe Concha similarly declared Wallace's remarks as the "out of touch thing you’ll hear any host say."
"95% of Americans will agree???" Concha exclaimed.
Wallace's "95%" claim appears to be a significant overstatement, a least to a recent poll from Morning Consult/Politico that was released on Monday, showing just 49 percent of voters supporting the Afghan withdrawal after 69 percent backed the move in April before the Taliban takeover. Another recent poll from Trafalgar Group and Convention of States Action shows nearly 70 percent of Americans disapprove of Biden's handling of the withdrawal.
Fox News' Michael Lee contributed to this report.
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